No Way Back
by VictimOfChanges
Summary: Emotional turmoil isn't deadly, right? Wrong. Years of suffering have morphed a once vibrant Gohan into a mentally unstable teenager. Through lunacy and saving mankind, Goku must find a way to save his son, as he contemplates his life. Buu saga twist Gh/V
1. Darkness

I do NOT own dbz or any of Akira Toriyama's characters, the bands, stores, or most anything important.

I apologize, this may take a little while to get into... but it'll be a good plot. Please review and send love! Also, ideas would be nice too, just for kicks.

**No Way Back Chapter I**_**:**_**Darkness**

SLAM!

The kitchen door slammed shut as a tall, thin, lanky teenager in a dark hooded sweatshirt dragged himself in. With his huge feet he strode across the kitchen revealing long, slender legs against his black faded jeans that clearly hung from his waist by the security of a belt. He might've taken off his backpack that hung off one of his broad, boney shoulders but he drudged on with it anyway.

Little Goten wandered into the kitchen from the den hearing his brother come in. A smile lit up on his face showing the excitement in his eyes.

"Hi Gohan!" his childish voice said, "Today me and Trunks were playing in the fort we made and a dinosaur tried to get us but we blasted him and asked Mommy to cook him up for lunch and we ate him and—"

Goten stopped when he noticed his big brother just kept walking past him into his bedroom and locking the door paying no attention to the little boy. A pout formed on the little demi saiyan's face as he wondered why Gohan never spoke anymore... or played with him, or sparred with him... or even ate. He walked back into the den and resumed watching Spongebob Squarepants where his sadness melted away with laughter and he forgot his troubles.

Back in Gohan's room, the older boy laid on his back on his bed while listening to his i-pod; the guitars and percussion screaming loudly into his ears. Gohan sought refuge from the world in his music like it drowned out all the pain and sorrow of his life. He never cared how loud it got... just as long as it was there to save him. Closing his eyes, he mouthed along with the lyrics having memorized them all:

_I can't remember anything_

_Can't tell if this is true or dream_

_Deep down inside I feel to scream_

_This terrible silence stops me_

_Now that the war is through with me_

_I'm waking up, I cannot see_

_That there's not much left of me_

_Nothing is real but pain now_

_Hold my breath as I wish for death_

_Oh please God wake me_

_Back in the womb it's much too real_

_In pumps life that I must feel_

_But can't look forward to reveal_

_Look to the time when I'll live_

_Fed through the tube that sticks in me_

_Just like a wartime novelty_

_Tied to machines that make me be_

_Cut this life off from me_

_Hold my breath as I wish for death_

_Oh please God wake me_

_Now the world is gone, I'm just one_

_Oh God help me_

_Hold my breath as I wish for death_

_Oh please God help me_

_Darkness _

_Imprisoning me_

_All that I see_

_Absolute horror_

_I cannot live_

_I cannot die_

_Trapped in myself _

_Body my holding cell_

_Landmine _

_Has taken my sight_

_Taken my speech _

_Taken my hearing_

_Taken my arms_

_Taken my legs_

_Taken my soul _

_Left me with life in hell_

For the first time in a long time, Gohan found himself in a rare moment of tranquility where his mind seemed at ease– like he could fall asleep without a care as the rhythmic lullaby of guitars soothed. He woke up from his trance when he heard a knock at the door, life once again weighing him down.

"Gohan?" asked the voice of his mother. She'd just gotten back from the grocery store probably to fix dessert for tonight since they were all going to Kame House to have a barbeque with all their old friends.

He opened his eyes but didn't say a word.

"Gohan, ...I know you can hear me. Can I come in?"

Still silence.

"Ugh..." he heard Chichi sigh. The doorknob turned and she entered quietly, making sure to close the door behind her. She advanced to her son's bed, sat on the edge of it and cleared her throat. "Gohan, I came to tell you something I know will cheer you up," she began slowly,"–-a miracle has happened!"

"..."

Ignoring his lack of concern, she resumed, still very high in her hopes.

"Gohan... in the Budokai Tenchaichi next week... —your father is going to be there!!" she almost squealed in delight. Her smile retired just as soon as it was made.

Not a look.

Not a flinch.

Not a smile.

Not a word.

Nothing.

He eyed the ceiling with the same disgusted look that he wore when she had come in and broken his peace.

Chichi was baffled.

"Gohan? Why aren't you happy? You've wanted to see your father again since you were a little boy– what's wrong with you?!" She shouted, almost panicking with disappointment.

What's wrong with you?

What's _wrong _with you?

_Stab_

"Won't you at least come to the party, ...Gohan?" she desperately tried to get him to say something.

Chichi sighed very sadly, shrugged her shoulders and stood up. What he was thinking, she would never know.

"Gohan... come with us, please?" she asked him in more of a demand than a request, "All the guys are expecting to see you; it's been a long time." Chichi kept her voice soft and little.

"..."

She then became a little more stern. "You're coming, son. Whether you like it or not. Be ready in one hour." And she left with a heavy heart.

With her gone, Gohan got up and gathered a few necessities he would need at the party. I-pod, sketchbook, pencils_... _He laid them on his bed and retrieved a carrying bag in which to deposit them. He then exchanged his dark hoodie for another, heavier, black hoodie that had a Pink Floyd logo written on the front and changed his shoes from all black Chuck Taylor's to black and red trimmed Vans.

As he did this, he thought about what his mother said:

_What's wrong with you?!_

He took all of her words to heart. And all of the other hurtful things people said to him as well. There was so much pain. He sulked and disappeared into the bathroom.

After awhile, he emerged and walked quickly back to his room, locking it too.

Gohan grabbed the bag and headed out the door... But halted immediately.

His eyes widened fearfully beneath the curtain of jet black hair, and he ran back into his room closing the door quickly, then grabbing his two fingerless gloves.

Angrily, Gohan stormed off down the hall towards the stairwell.

He didn't notice Goten hiding nearby listening to his brother and watching his every move.

"Why does brother want those gloves?" the little seven year old mused himself, wondering why those silly gloves were so important to Gohan. Just then, he heard his mother calling the two boys downstairs.

Like any average kid, he raced down the hall and passed his big brother on the stairs.

Chichi was putting her jacket on and wrapping the brownies she cooked up right when Gohan entered. To kill a few minutes, he turned his i-pod and looked through his playlists.

While he was busy doing that, Chichi glanced at him for a moment.

_He looks so much like his father... but..._ _he also looks so sad. Oh... why won't he ever tell me his problems. _Chichi thought to herself. She examined how pale his skin was, and how long his hair was. Now he only wore dark, heavy clothes, and rarely ever spoke, or made eye contact.

Then she realized they were late.

"Oh, Gohan, Goten let's go now! Get in the car, we're late!" she ushered them outside to the garage.

While walking behind her eldest son, Chichi noted (not to her liking) that Gohan was nearly over a foot taller than her. It broke her heart that her little baby boy was seventeen already... But that also meant that she was getting old...

The party seemed to go on forever for Gohan, but eventually they made it back home. He was confronted by most everyone and never even said a word. They all seemed to just shrug it off with no concern. Except Piccolo. He didn't greet Gohan anyway... but left with a strange comment.

"Gohan." the tall green namekian said lowly, "You have to find the way back."

When Gohan gave no response or reply, Piccolo simply left, probably back to his meditating spot. All of the other times he'd seen Piccolo, he got that phrase. It didn't mean anything to him but only because he chose not to care.

For now, nothing mattered. The most important things to him were his drawings and his music. But even that wasn't of much significance.

He dwelled in his melancholy when they came home and later found himself sketching a horrific picture of a large eye with the reflection of what he chose to be a decaying skull in the pupil. It was a great and terrible picture; like much of what he made. If anyone ever saw his collection of... _masterpieces_... they would indeed think him satanic or a diseased mind plagued with lunacy.

When he completed the piece, his alarm clock illuminated 3:30am and he felt the longing for rest. Even if it would be only 2 ½ hours of it. Laying in bed, he remembered: school. Oh how he hated the word. The very existence of the place was a hell– a constant hell. Through his depressed mind, he found sleep and dreamed of familiar nightmares: The Cell Games.

Every horrifying moment from that fateful day replayed in his mind, over and over again. The cycle seemed endless; a black hole that he could not escape from. He dreamt of it every now and then, each time becoming more vivid.

Had Chichi and Goten been born light sleepers, they would surely have been woken by the sounds of Gohan crying out in his sleep. But alas, his cries were unheard... nothing new.


	2. Outcast

**No Way Back Chapter ll: Outcast**

From the time school started, it became an extreme inconvenience and a bothersome nuisance, beginning from the early waking hour. He would get up, take a shower, dress himself and leave without a word to anyone everyday. That was the morning ritual.

Today seemed no different than any other day: dull and lifeless. All day, the other jock-like students would either ignore him, much like the teachers did, or make fun of his distinct differences. Like:

"Hey Goth-boy, are you afraid of color?"

"You deaf or something?"

"Say something, stupid! Or does a cat got you're tongue?"

"Gee Gohan, if you're so emo, than why don't you go kill yourself?"

"Get some friends loser... But then again, who'd want to be friends with a fuckup like you?"

It was cruel existence: being belittled and shamed countlessly for seven hours everyday. No one ever stood up for him and he never stood up for himself. Justice never found him. Teachers and administration would see it all the time: the insults and comments. Sometimes other kids would even throw stuff at him, or leave threatening, hateful notes in his locker. But there was never anything done.

That was his life. Torment. Disgrace. Exile.

That harsh cycle would have continued for this Monday, had the tournament not been in one week. Luckily, that was the highlight of the school and not Gohan's obsolete being for a change, save one incident at lunch where some jock threatened to steal his hoodie to see if Gohan would catch on fire in the sun like a vampire. But that was a vague comment and was easy to ignore.

That day he was almost granted relief from the hurt. Nothing too unpleasant had occurred and it was already dismissal.

He walked from the classroom almost happy that he was not the center of attention he usually was. Then suddenly something hit him, causing him to drop all of the loose papers and binders he held. An eruption of laughter fell over the entire hallway.

He spun around to see which preppy imbecile decided to ruin his day but found a surprised foreign face looking down at his and her fallen books with an open mouth.

"Oh my gosh– I- I'm so sorry." she said quickly and apologetically... almost like she actually meant it. "—I didn't mean to–" she looked up at towering guy in front of her and cut herself off.

Gohan firmed up and hardened his face preparing for an insult as the weird girl gawked at him with wide, blue eyes.

It felt like she looked at him for an hour but after three seconds, she shook herself and gathered up her books.

"Videl! C'mon! Ditch the loser so we can go to your house!" said her blonde, tube topped friend as she watched the other girl gather up his books too. "You promised you would!"

"Here." she said handing him his neatly piled stuff. "–I– I'm really sorry..." she managed as her friend Erasa, who was one of the hurtful people to Gohan, pulled her away as if she was a possession and not a friend..

The laughter and attention had stopped after she first apologized so luckily, he wasn't being held victim to the onslaught anymore.

_What a peculiar girl... _

"Yeah man, that's Videl Satan."

"Oh, that hot new girl?"

"Yeah! And you know what? She's the richest girl in town because she's Hercule Satan's daughter!"

"What?? No way! That probably means she off limits. _Sigh_."

"Yeah, Mr. Satan would kill you if you'd try to hit on her."

"Bummer..."

Gohan stood at his locker listening to two guys next to him talk about the girl who ran into him.

"And you know what else?"

"What, dude?"

"That chick can fight!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"I'm serious! She's in my gym class! We were wrestling and she challenged Sharpener and pinned him in like 2 seconds!"

"You're joking right? Sharpener's the strongest guy in the whole school!"

"I'm not even kidding."

"Yeah... well I guess Hercule must've trained her.

"Yeah, I'll bet!"

"Why'd she move here anyway?"

"I heard rumors that Mr. Satan wanted to live right next to the World Martial Artist Ring so that he could train everyday."

"Pfft! Like he could get any stronger! He freakin killed Cell, man!"

Gohan glared at the floor. Anytime someone would say that it always put him over the edge.

"She's really different though, like a tomboy or something."

"Yeah... but I think that's really sexy."

"I know!"

B-RRRRIIIINNNNGGGGGGGG!!

The bell than rang and teenagers were running left and right to get out to get ready and make plans for the tournament in a few days.

It was when Gohan had dropped his stuff on his bedroom floor and begun drawing another picture that he realized a piece of paper that was thrown from his pile of books.

It was a regular piece of notebook paper with back and forth dialogues, like two people were passing notes all over it. One was very neat in pink writing, like the writer was trying to make it look cute. The other was more generic and yet rebellious from a normal girl's handwriting in dark blue:

**hey, r u goin' 2 the tournament?**

Nope, I like fightin' but my dad went all out last nite about incase I was the last finalist, then I'd have to fight him and he just couldn't hurt his own 'lil girl'! So I'm not even going.

**not at all??**

Well, maybe I'll stop by for the beginning and eat or sumthin'. If I get bored, then I'm leavin'.

**oh well, ur gonna miss out!**

Whatever. Hey, who was that one guy at lunch today?

**lik which 1? **

I don't know his name– you know, the one your friend was picking on?

**oh! that loser? his name's son gohan. he lik nvr talks 2 anyone.**

Why not?

**IDK! He's a freak! n he's all like Goth n emo and like really messed up. n all he wears is lik those baggy clothes n their always black. He's such a fag.**

Well of course he's emo! U all make fun of him!

**that's cuz he's a freak! nobody else looks or dressed like him!**

That doesn't mean you should make fun of him. Why do you anyway?

**cuzz we can and it's fun! y don't you think so?**

He just— I just don't think he deserves it is all.

**Ur so weird.**

Do u wanna come to my mansion or not?

**Ok, ok!**

The two authors, Gohan deciphered, were Erasa Parston and Videl Satan. The rest of the note was uninteresting and described Erasa blabbing about her new brand clothes and makeup. However, the contents of the conversation baffled him.

_She stood up for me..._

He couldn't believe it. Even if it wasn't a verbal gesture– she still stood up for him. No one had ever done that ever before.

Gohan smiled innerly and felt a flutter of happiness come over him. But it disappeared in an instant.

Yeah, she'd favor his painful, introvertive esteem for now... but once she was influenced by her friend's actions, then she'd become one of them. This truth was menacing and enraging.

His expression fell along with any hope there might've been. After all, it's not like one voice could do anything. Especially not his voice. He didn't have a voice. Only dark, demented pictures in his head; comforting and disturbing him all at once and obliterating his "once upon a time" significance to the world. Destroying Cell could've been his one significance had it not been stolen by a certain conceited bastard. If only he'd had a voice then the world would praise his name: Son Gohan. But there on the other hand, the realization hand, his act of justice would easily be thrown back at him and he would be shamed a boastful liar, not worthy of such recognition; a sham.

His life was a sham; a horrific disaster of completely no significance.

Tears began to fall from his angry eyes as he pressed harder and harder on the pencil he drew with. It's creation was dark and smudgy and as each tear fell from cheek onto the paper, a creek of water made it's way down, distorting the piece.

The disparity of the situation grew immensely and the pain became unbearable. How could a pro mutate so rapidly into a terminating con? It all became too much and that created the desire for him to ease the pain, something no one could ever understand. He threw open a drawer and grabbed a long, knife like razor and immediately obeyed his desire and thrust it into the soft skin of his wrist over all of the scars it held from former complications such as this.

The cut was deep and red blood flooded out of his veins. The stinging gloriously shut out the depressed thoughts he always cut for. There was blood everywhere. On the floor, on his face and clothes, in his hair. But it was worth it. It was always worth it.

His vision turned a dark red right before his body collapsed in the puddle of blood he'd created. Before his eyes closed, he noticed the note from the girls beside him.

One phrase stuck out particularly and rang in his head:

_I just don't think he deserves it, I just don't think he deserves it, I just don't think he deserves it, I just don't think he deserves it, I just don't think he deserves it..._

He felt numb both mentally and bodily. Rest was coming soon.

He pictured her face when she had stared at him. She didn't laugh. She didn't point. She didn't look disgusted. She looked afraid– fear of _disapproval_? And also, curious.

He could see her looking defensive to Erasa.

_He doesn't deserve it._

How could she say that? His mind was bewildered by her motives. She came to him as a rebel; an outlaw; or even... _an outsider? _An outsider like _him_?

Yet, the pro degraded into a nefarious con. Thus, the pain further commenced.

"_I just don't think he deserves it."_

A hot tear lead pathway down his white, placid cheek_._

_You're wrong, I do deserve it._

The world went black.


	3. Communication Breakdown

**No Way Back Chapter lll:****Communication Breakdown**

Black lashes opened to a new day. A dreadful, demeaning, torturing new day. He wondered why the reaper wouldn't reap his mortal soul as he so wanted. Unfortunately, it was only 5:00 am, an hour before he had to leave and just enough time to bleach his clothes and scrub the floor, take a shower and hide any evidence from last night's dirty deed. That also meant he had to return to the hellhole from which he was disturbed in the first place.

When he sat down in his desk in 1st period, which was the farthest row to the back, he noticed a certain girl standing in front of the classroom, asking the teacher where she could sit. She was probably moved from the standard classes to the advanced classes.

Another popular girl in the school, Cheyanne Akerman, whom sat an empty desk away from Gohan, raised her hand and shouted:

"Mr. Ferry! There's an empty desk next to me! Videl can sit here!"

Her, Erasa, and all of the other girls in their little posse wanted to turn Little Miss Moneybags into one of them. Probably so they could benefit from her popularity and wealth. The funny thing was, Cheyanne was the only one in their little "clique" that was in the advanced classes. Actually, History was the only advanced class she was in because her mom, or her grandmother rather, was having an affair with Mr. Ferry, as it was rumored.

Videl walked up the isle of desks towards their row. She was wearing jean knee shorts and a black Judas Priest t-shirt. As soon as she saw him, she looked away like she was embarrassed and hesitated before she sat down next to him. This was yet another one of her confusing acts.

After the class eased into it's lesson, which was simply Mr. Ferry, a short, old man with huge lense glasses who couldn't see worth a crap, babbling about World War Two, Gohan began to daydream about the tournament yet to come. His father would be there.

_He'll probably treat me like a child and then nag me about why I'm so screwed up. The bastard. He probably won't even care, he never cared. I don't even want to see him. I hate—_

A shred of paper landed in front of him. Immediately, he knew that the girl next to him had passed it. It was in her handwriting. Though, she had her head faced towards her friend, he knew she'd done it.

He opened up the fold of paper and read it's contents:

Hey, sorry I ran in2 u. I wasn't lookin':) I love yure Metallica hoodie!

Should he be flattered or annoyed? Or did she want him to reply to her note?

He decided against it and just flicked it away. A glance to her face revealed her expression. Surprisingly, she didn't look disgusted or even mad. But she did look sort of sad or disappointed, like his rejection had hurt her. It was all really strange.

Luckily, the bell decided to ring at that moment and by the time she saw he was gone from his seat, Gohan had made it almost to the door.

Second period. Math. Like the class before, and all of his classes really, he was in the back. And there were always empty seats next to him. So naturally, Videl would be sitting next to him all day.

"Alright you little pests, you can choke on some more calculus." Mr. Harpenson, a middle aged man with no respect for kids said. Of course, he was the kind of guy who didn't have kids either. "If any of you fail to complete today's work, then the whole class will not be permitted to leave." he said hardly. You could tell he was scowling. "Complete page 265-275, all."

That was just like Mr. Harpenson. Give you only 40 minutes to complete over 200 problems. There were a lot of whines and defiance, until he screamed for everyone to shut up.

Gohan completed them all in less than 10 minutes. What to do for another 30 minutes? He pulled out his latest sketchbook and began to sketch.

Videl finished her work with about 5 minutes to spare before class ended. She had to hold in a gasp when she turned and saw Gohan's picture. It was absolutely breathtaking. His skill was brilliant.

The scene had what looked to be a dead tree in the middle of a gorgeous field, all alone, with the last bits of sunlight from a sunset shining through it. The tree divided the field into three equal sections. Each section was different. One portion looked new like the grass had just grown again and flowers were still buds ready to bloom as if it were right after winter. The second, in the middle, was the field at the peak of maturity; buds bloomed to perfection, and grass long and wavy. In the third stage, everything appeared to be dying: the grass was hard and crinkly looking, and the flowers had become old and wrinkled and drooped from the decaying stems that still stood.

She understood now. The drawing was a representation of life's general cycles: Birth and growth, maturing and adulthood, dying and old age, and the overall death. The tree was the Grim Reaper and the sun was to identify the passing of time, it seemed.

The bell rang and caused her to jump.

Almost all of the students in the class sighed or whined. Of course, they failed to finish.

"Whatever," Mr. Harpenson scowled again, "just get out. You're all failures!"

Next period was English with Ms. Malrose. She was the pushover teacher, so this was when the class could socialize and pretty much do whatever they wanted. People would make out, throw stuff, girls would gossip, some kids brought a snack to eat. One time a guy brought in a whole pizza and ate it during English. Most kids slept during 3rd period.

Gohan simply continued his drawing as Videl tried to secretly watch in awe.

After a minute or so of touch up on the piece, Gohan got out a fine tip black marker and begun outlining his pencil marks.

After he finished inking and let it dry, he got out an eraser and did away with the pencil still on the paper, so all that was left was the ink. It was a fine method and it worked marvelously.

The bell rung once again, making Videl jump. Watching her fellow Goth classmate create artwork seemed to pass the time very quickly.

Fourth period, Science, followed dully, having the requirements of effort. In the vicinity of the 40 minutes they would be there, they had to write a five page essay about the theory of continental drift, why it happens, etc. thanks to Mr. Choi.

Just as simply as he had completed math, the essay was done. Then, Gohan continued to enhance the masterpiece in which continued to amaze Videl, even though he seemed to remain oblivious to her reactions.

"Hallelujah! It's lunchtime!" several people chanted. After a short transition to their lockers, dropping off books, and getting their lunch or lunch money, teenagers made their way to the cafeteria.

Once Videl got to her locker, she was swamped with people. Mostly, it was just her preppy click of "friends", but there were a chain of guys too. Jocks, nonetheless. They were all over her like she had 10,000 zeni stapled to her forehead. And you might even say she did.

Of course, she was to sit at their table: the newest inductee. Goodie Kazu. And the conversations couldn't have been more dry:

"Hey, let's go to the mall tonight! I hear that the Prom stock is in right now!"

"O-m-g! I almost freak-ing forgot! We only have like a month left!"

"My daddy's renting me a limo!"

_Blah, blah, blah, blah. Whatever_.

While nibbling on her cafeteria pizza (cardboard with goat cheese, most likely), and blankly listening to the "Senior Gossip", and latest fads, etc, Videl caught herself thinking about that boy. _Gohan, that's his name. _The poor, misunderstood creature that was the emblem of injustice. Being raised in a violent, high society oriented custom, she'd seen much injustice in the political aspects of the world. For the sake of Ghandi! It wasn't even her macho dad who defeated the terrible Cell! How could he? Cell was freaking unhuman! And here, a poor kid couldn't even graduate without being tormented somehow.

_Man, being a teenager really sucks._

It was in this train of thought that she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye. Outside, where a good half of the senior class decided to eat lunch, she saw his broad, dark figure sitting underneath a large, shady tree. He wasn't eating anything, but he was— he was coloring, it looked like. Coloring his picture he made during class.

Again, as it seemed to happen frequently, the bell startled her. Had it been a half an hour already?

It took about 5 seconds to throw away her tray and uneaten food, but in that amount of time, when she looked out the window again, he had disappeared. Now how would she figure out where to go?

"Oh Videl!" Erasa's voice chimed, "You have gym with me!"

_Joy._

Well, that solved one question. But...

_Where did that boy go?_

Gym was jubilant, of course. Starting off with changing into her gym clothes in front of all the other girls. Yesterday they didn't make her change because it was her first day and she didn't have the uniform yet.

And about that uniform. It was beautiful, really. The shirt was bright orange, like the kind of vests that construction workers wore, or even like the things you wear if you ride your bike at night with the flashers. And you had a choice for shorts to buy: green or blue? Why spend 30 for a pair of gay clothes when you could just rebel and bring in your own color coordinated pair? That's exactly what she did.

Fortunately, she found out, the gym teachers weren't very strict on uniforms, just as long as you wore exercising clothes. So there was no quarrel when she strolled into the gymnasium wearing black fitness shorts and a loose white tee.

"Alright, alright, settle down," Mr. Bullok growled in his 'confident athlete's voice'. "Now, we are going to continue wrestling as we've been doing. Don't forget the key concepts, a pin will only be qualified when both shoulder blades are on the mat for five consecutive seconds otherwise it doesn't count at all...

As he settled into to wrestle recap, Videl couldn't help but wonder yet again where her Goth was. Maybe Erasa knew.

"Hey Erasa, "she nudged her friend and whispered, "umm... how come Cheyanne and most of the other girls aren't here?"

"Oh, " the blonde gladly accepted the distraction from wrestle mania, "cuz they split the senior class in two by the alphabet. Anybody whose last name falls between A and K is in the second gym class, and us, the other half of the alphabet have P.E. fifth period. The other girls' last names are like higher on the alphabet." she said matter-o-factly like she was a very intelligent person.

_The alphabet, huh? Gohan's last name is Son, I think... then he should be here with me! Where the hell did he go?_

After another ring of the bell, everyone changed and ran off to their assigned arts class. On her little info paper that she forgot she had, Videl found that her arts class was music. Suh-weet!

In the classroom, there were not only Seniors but other grades of kids as well. No one that she knew of course. So basically, to the back row it was.

And to her surprise, Gohan was already sitting in the seat next to an empty one.

_Where on earth were you? _She wondered mentally, and noted that she would never get the answer.

Even though he had never spoken to her, and evidently didn't like her, having him in all, or most of her classes was a strange sort of comfort to her.

"Alright kids, " Mrs. Sadey, the music teacher greeted. She was somewhat of a pleasant teacher, thankfully, "Today starts our Rock and Roll Unit!"

There were some cheers and "Yays!" going around, not to mention Videl's own excitement. Rock n' Roll wasn't just music, it was life!

"Okay, now" Mrs. Sadey ushered the class to quiet down, "this week we will be going over how to play the instruments: Guitar, bass, drums, piano, and vocals. And also we'll go over different styles of rock and the founding fathers of rock. Let's start with the different styles, shall we.

"Alright, we won't get down to the nitty gritty, but to the main ones. So, who can tell me what two bands started 'Hard Rock'?" The teacher asked expecting some enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, no one knew because the most popular rock that they listened to was modern day punk. It was all about rap and punk rock.

After it became so unnerving and hard to resist, Videl couldn't help but to raise her hand.

"Yes Miss Satan?"

"The two most influential bands to the genre of hard rock are Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Most hard rock bands today were inspired by the evil, dark sound of Sabbath, and the flowing, improvisational melodies of Zeppelin. If it weren't for them, then Rock and Roll may not have flourished into what it is today and several sub-rock categories like emo rock would not have been created. They even gave way to the start of metal and metal bands from Iron Maiden to Pantera. All in all, after Elvis, Chuck Berry and the Beatles paved the pathway for the start of Rock n Roll, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin perfected it into the glorified music we worship today." Videl said confidently.

Mrs. Sadey's mouth stood agape. Never in all the years she'd been a music teacher has anyone known or cared about the history of Rock n Roll. The other students stared at her too, not that it bothered her. She was the new girl, she'd been getting that a lot.

But what did shock her was that Goth boy was staring at her. His mouth was not hanging open, but his large, dark eyes were wide open, peering at her from behind the curtain of shag that was hair. She couldn't move, only analyze. He looked... surprised? Almost like when she'd first ran into him and he stared at her then.

It was when Mrs. Sadey began to clap and say "Well, done." then she broke her gaze from him.

The rest of the class consisted of Mrs. Sadey asking more questions about Rock n Roll history and Videl answering and Gohan staring at her.

MS: "What band began the spikes, leather, and chain craze?"

V: "Judas Priest." She pointed to her t-shirt.

MS: "What band started 'Thrash Metal'?"

V: "Metallica, because they were sick of 'Hair Metal'."

MS: "What band did the fans of Led Zeppelin hate?"

V: "KISS."

MS: "How was 'Techno Metal' started?"

V: "Anthrax did a gig with Public Enemy."

MS: "What band started the epic power ballads?"

V: "Motley Crue with 'Home Sweet Home'."

It went on and on, and the students continued to stare befuddled at her, even Goth boy. But Videl, instead of heeding his gaze, began to like it. After chasing him around all day, now he was finally giving her some attention!

"What evil, satanic rocker was influenced by the darkness of KISS and Alice Cooper?"

This one caught her off guard. She— she didn't know. Ten seconds of hesitating felt like an eternity to her. Now, she would lose her high position of class "Rock Historian".

Then suddenly the Goth boy next to her reached out his arm and scribbled something onto her notebook:

**Marilyn Manson**

She almost screamed. _HE COMMUNICATED WITH ME!! _But then she realized she'd forgotten that everyone was looking at her and waiting for a response, oblivious to her glee.

"It's— Marilyn Manson."

"Very good, Miss Satan! Okay students, that concludes today's class. Later on this week, you'll be choosing groups for your long term music assignment: playing and performing a rock song like a real band! Have a nice day!" and the bell rung. This time, Videl was not taken off guard.

It took her 1 second before she realized her Goth was getting away.

"Wait!" she screamed.

He kept going. She could be screaming for anyone.

"Gohan, wait!"

He froze and turned his head and stared at the girl rushing towards him.

When she got to him, still staring bewildered at her, she had a loss of words. _What to say?_

_Gee, thank you so much for helping me out back there, I'm _eternally _in your debt._

_You're so rad Gohan, I totally didn't know the answer._

_Oh please, pay attention to me!!_

But she settled for a modest, "Thanks." instead and ran off with a red face.

He just about had a heart attack. Gratitude. She gave him gratitude. She actually thanked him. That could also mean that... she _appreciated _him.

It was so much at once. Gohan's eyes filled up with tears.

Not that anyone noticed.


	4. Hope?

**No Way Back Chapter IV:** **Hope?**

On her way home, Videl couldn't help but wonder what Gohan thought of her. Maybe he was thinking something nice like: _What a lovely girl, we should be friends, she's very intelligent, etc. _But then again, he could be thinking something negative like: _What a spaz, why won't she leave me alone, stubborn bitch, etc._

Whatever he was thinking, she hoped it was good.

When she got home, a sweaty, overly tanned Hercule Satan was showing off his steroid enhanced muscles to some ladies, who were swooning over his might.

"Yuck..." she groaned as she passed the room they were in and headed toward her room. _Pathetic._

Her room was... awesome! That about describes it. The walls were all a bright, blood red and her ceiling was black. It was a little hard to tell because nearly every inch of wall and ceiling was covered with posters, magazine clip outs, pictures, or CD booklets. It didn't take that long to decorate her new room, as she had plenty of time. The day she moved to "Satan City", which was renamed in honor of the new, imperious resident, she hadn't made any friends yet so she quickly got to work. It was a big room with a queen sized bed, a black leather sofa, extra sitting room, a walk in closet, and a cozy, large bathroom. But the best part of Videl's room was the balcony attached. On the far side of her room, there were french doors which led to the balcony. There was a pretty cabana that had black, silver and red fabrics that looked pretty and doubled as a shade from the sun.

Throwing down her bookbag, Videl hopped onto her bed and grabbed her laptop. She eased into a comfortable position, which was on her stomach, and let her black and blue checkered, poofy bed comforter bunch up all around her.

First she checked her e-mail. There were 12 new messages. All of which were from her new 'friends' if she could even call them that. Ironically, they were all chain letters! So she deleted them all. For about a half an hour, she surfed around on myspace and uploaded stuff. Then suddenly, someone instant messaged her. But not just any someone. Someone whose screename was "**CutiePinkPromGirl101**".

**CPPG101:** Hey Videl!! OMG! How r u??

The first thought that mustered up in her brain was: S-P-A-Z. Well, what could she do now but to answer? She had to find out who it was. On the plus side, maybe her screename would scare away miss "**CutiePinkPromGirl101**"! Her's was "**MaidenOfMassDestructionx**".

**MMDx:** **umm... who r u?**

**CPPG101:** lol! It's Erasa, silly! Lol

**MMDx:** **o, hi**

**CPPG101:** ok, so I like saw u online n stuff so I just had 2 tell u! Me and Chey, Missy, Lita, and some guys r gonna go 2 the mall. U wanna come w/?

Videl thought it over for a minute and over all decided, what the hell? She hadn't been there or checked any of the shopping places out yet. What did she have to lose?

**MMDx:** **k, I don't have any homework tonite. Sounds good.**

**CPPG101****:** yay! Ok, we'll pick u up like 3, k?

**MMDx:** **k, I'll c u then**

**CPPG101:** ttyl! Lol

Then she finally signed off.

_'Phew! I was just waiting for another "All My Children"'s episode to start again.'_ She thought as she unplugged her laptop which was covered in graffiti and skater stickers.

It was about 2:45 so she had time to kill. She went into her walk in closet and changed her shorts to long jeans that were all scuffed up on the bottom of the pantlegs. There were also rips in the knees. Grungy yet stylish: a lovely match. She did that and then grabbed an all black, non zip-up hoodie that had Invader Zim and Gir on the front. Then she grabbed her wallet and stuck it in her back pocket. What to do, what to do? With ten minutes to spare, she opened up her spiral notebook and wrote a few things down.

Then she heard a honk outside. Looking out her bay window with a window seat, she saw a convertible packed with preppy teenagers. Sharpener was driving. Sharpener, who insisted he went easy on her when she pinned him in wrestling.

Videl ran out of her room, closing her door first, and slid down the railing of the semi-spiraling staircase which dropped her off right at the front door. She left without a word to anyone and jumped into the back of the red, sporty car.

"Hi Videl!" Erasa and the other girls squealed. "Ok, so we'll be hitting the stores first, then we can eat and hit the stores some more!"

"That sounds... fun." she tried to sound as enthusiastic as they all did.

The mall was close and convenient with a few department stores like J.C. Penney's and Boscov's, but it appeared jam packed with people judging on the limited parking spaces. This was obviously the after school hang out.

Once they were in, they decided which stores to hit first.

"Ok, so how about we first go to J.C. Penney's and then Aeropastle and then American Eagle!" Erasa screeched.

"OMG, Erasa!" Missy screeched back. "That'll take hours!"

"Yeah! But we have all night!" Cheyenne beamed.

"Oh! And maybe after we eat, we can go get our Prom Dresses!!" Lita screamed.

"Don't forget bikinis! Swimsuit season's coming!" Missy shouted.

"We'll be sure to come along for that!" All of the guys chimed in.

What else could she do but stare in stupor? They were acting like a predictable sit com.

"Ok..." Videl found her voice, "I think I'm gonna check the mall out. I can go by myself."

"Ok.." they sounded a little disappointed but not depressed. Why should they be? They've got Aeropastle and Bikinis! "Alright, we'll meet you at the food court at six, okay?"

"Sounds good." Videl fake smiled and disappeared, glad to be out of their clan.

She walked around for awhile, attacked by sales people and the bright colors of preppy stores.

Then suddenly, a beautiful, uncrowded store caught her eye: Hot Topic. She freaked and ran into the store almost jumping up and down with joy.

Even though Hot Topic was not necessarily that big, Videl found herself in a predicament of what to buy. Of course, she wanted to buy everything all at once, but civilly, she narrowed down her selection to three things. Uno: a Nirvana tee shirt. Dos: a pair of black arm warmers with a big red cross across the front. Tres: a necklace with a silver angel wing pendant.

After that, she bought some bracelets from Claire's, a blue and black belt with faded metal studs from Spencer's Gifts, a movie poster and a couple of CDs from Best Buy.

Though it didn't seem to take that long, it was already six o'clock, time for food.

They were waiting for her at a big round booth towards the middle of the crowd of people stuffing their faces, and waving their arms wildly to direct her. Once she got there of course, she had to maze around again and find some yum yums.

"Micky D's... no, Quizno's... no, Chickfila... no, wait a second– Wendy's!! Yes!" Videl ran over to Wendy's and ordered a classic single burger, hold the onions, fries and a chocolate shake.

She got back to the table and starting chowing down. And it was at that moment that her mind again wondered to a certain person. A certain _gothic _person.

"Oh my heavens! This house is a reck!" Chichi nearly screamed. She was still in shock of the news that her dead husband would be returning to her for a day and was desperately trying to tidy up. "Messy, messy, MESSY!! Cobwebs everywhere! And those dirty clothes and– oh my! The dishes! I have to clean the dishes— Good gracious! What will I cook for him?? Oh no! –"

Goten was hiding behind the couch, listening to his mother's rambling. It was scary. Scary because she was obsessed... or better yet, _possessed_. But the most frightening of these was the possibility that she would make him clean too.

Gohan was predictably in his bedroom, but today he was going through the big hope chest in the corner of his room.

It was a big chest full of just about everything. There was a pile of old sketch books that he'd completed awhile back, a plentiful of art supplies, a binder full of lyrics to songs, another binder full of guitar tabs, a pile of magazines, several notebooks full of songs he'd written himself and music he'd composed himself, dozens of cd cases, some candles, a small mirror, and a little box that had a small assortment of sharp, shiny razors.

However, there was also a shoebox in the chest... which was exactly what he was looking for. He found it, and brought it out of the chest, careful not to mess up anything else inside.

Inside the shoebox were— pictures. A lot of pictures. Gohan picked up the stack and began to examine each one.

One was of his parents, another of him as a baby, etc. They were all pictures of his childhood... his childhood up until the cell games. That's when his life took a turn for the worst: after he died. After he decided to stay that way.

The last picture in the box was of him and his father right before they left to defeat Cell.

Right before Goku was murdered.

And it was that picture that arose a certain pain filled anger in the teen.

Yeah, it was _he _who had murdered his father. _He _who nearly destroyed every living creature on the earth. _He _who was guilty. And everyone knew about it. They all denied it. He himself denied it. But the pain never subsided. It just grew worse and worse everyday, taking over his mind and heart. Seven years. Seven years of heartbreaking misery.

Gohan crumpled up the picture and threw it back into the chest. Oh how he hated his father. It was all his fault. Every bit of pain he felt was _his _fault. All the times he'd cried, all the times he'd cut himself, all the times he'd wanted to die. It was all because of _him_. Just thinking about it made Gohan want to perform all of the above. Why?! Why should he feel this way? It was more than just a hate, but a longing; and yet anxiety.

Chichi was right, what _was _wrong with him? Maybe he _did _belong in an asylum. Maybe he _should _be locked up forever. He _was _a murderer after all. Perhaps _he_ should be the one dead. Or maybe...

...maybe he should just die anyway.

_No!_ He should have thought. _I shouldn't go this way! I would just be hurting everyone around me! I'm too young to die! _He should have thought of _any _excuse to remain with the living, but found none worthy of his life.

_This is it._ He thought. _What I've always wanted._

Gohan pushed the photographs aside and went for the box of razors. Out of the whole assortment, he decided on the longest one. It was already presharpened, thanks to some spare time earlier.

Before he split his veins wide open, he thought about the people who'd once loved him.

Chichi, who didn't have a clue of what went on through her son's mind everyday. Chichi, who ruined her son's life by not allowing him more time to train with her husband. Chichi, who forced a path upon her son without her son's permission. It was no lie, Gohan never really liked her. She would not be missed.

Goten, who never knew his big brother. Goten, who needed a big brother... and a father. Gohan began to feel regret for the little boy. He would not take it easily.

Piccolo. The friend Gohan once had and loved. Who he never trusted more. Who made him brave... though his bravery has failed at life. He would be missed too.

There were more, Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Yamcha, Krillin... they were all his friends–

_No. They were Goku's friends._

That was true. They didn't care. They never cared. Why should they anyway? Gohan _did _indeed murder his father.

And there was the hurt again. He pulled his left sleeve up and lightly traced a path across his wrist with the razor. Some blood came to the surface and the area turned a fleshy pink. It left a white line where he intended to gouge violently. His lips moved slowly into a maniacal smile. He was crazy. Yes. Indeed he was. Thinking about what was about to happen, Gohan's smile became a blood lusty grin and then into a horrible laugh. It wasn't too loud, but enough for him to throw his head back in fits of evil laughter.

What was wrong with him? Who knew? But the humorous thing would be that he was going to hell! He roared with quiet laughter, careful not to draw his mother's or brother's attention, but it was still a demented laugh. As a matter of fact, killing himself had become hysterical. He thought that this was a pre-death disturbia and the devil was possessing him.

After another laugh, he clenched his teeth excitedly and smiled like he was a vampire in a room of drunken men. Glee was an understatement. It was more of a euphoric event; a great and terrible euphoria.

Without another moment to lose, he grabbed the razor and sliced his swelling wrist. Or he would have if Videl Satan hadn't crossed his mind.

He dropped the razor.

How could he have forgotten? The day flashed through his mind. She followed him everywhere he went, was infatuated by his artwork, and apparently loved some good music. But more importantly, she had given him something:

"Thanks." She'd said.

He should have acknowledged her. He wished he'd acknowledged her!

That was it!

He put back on his fingerless gloves and put the pictures and razors back into the chest.

He would ask to be her friend. And if necessary, beg. He knew they had a lot in common, what with bands and style and whatnot.

Gohan pictured it. He would have someone to talk to and to share his problems with. And someone to show his drawings. And someone to listen to music with. He never had anyone who he could do all of that with...

But what if she said no? He would be crushed. And what's worse... he would be one

step closer to the one thing he did not want to do... the last resort.

This made Gohan feel even more depressed now. But he caught himself this time.

_'I haven't even asked her yet. How could she have possibly said no?'_

He had to chuckle. That was so like him, to over analyze everything and jump to the more negative outcome. He did that with everything and always expected the worst.

Thinking about Videl reminded him of something. He got out his sketchbook, or the one still in use, and turned to a particular picture:

The tree picture about the life cycle. It was beautifully colored with pastel and every detail was evident.

He tore out the page.


	5. Relations

**No Way Back Chapter V:** **Relations**

"Okay students! Settle down, settle down!" Mr. Varns, the school principal said over the auditorium microphone. "We have a very important issue to discuss today about violence. It is especially important considering the Budokai Tenchikai is in a few days."

All of the students moaned. It was one thing to be crammed together– freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors– into one room with no air conditioning, but at the same time to be lectured... oh it was beyond all misery.

Videl yawned. This was _hell_. The heat was overwhelming and it made her feel sleepy, much like the rest of the students. She was crammed into one of the auditorium's small chairs and wedged between her little posse of preps to top it all off.

"Now we all know that it is indeed a pastime in our Japanese heritage to fight and perform martial arts as a ritual ceremony and also as a hobby. And we also know that many of you, just like thousands of citizens, are looking forward to the Budokai Tenchikai. So we feel it necessary to go over some rules against violence in Japanese public schools. Just because you see martial artists competing against one another does not give you the right to beat up anyone or hurt them in any way. Martial arts is a sport and shall not be tolerated in any way unless it is conducted with proper sportsmanship. Also, the martial artists competing in the Budokai Tenchikai are trained professionals. So it is in the school board's best interest that any violence between students and/or citizens be brought to justice. Following that note, I will list the possible punishments for violence on school grounds..."

With nothing better to do, Videl slipped out her i-pod from her pocket, without being seen, and put the tiny earphones into her ears.

_I cannot take this anymore_

_I'm saying everything I've said before_

_All these words, they make no sense_

_I find bliss in ignorance_

_Less I hear, the less you'll say_

_But you'll find that out anyway_

_Just like before..._

_Everything you say to me_

_Takes me one step closer to the edge_

_And I'm about to break_

_I need a little room to breath_

'_Cause I'm one step closer to the edge_

_And I'm about to break_

_I find the answers aren't so clear_

_Wish I could find a way to disappear_

_All these thoughts, they make no sense_

_I find bliss in ignorance_

_Nothing seems to go away_

_Over and over again_

_Just like before..._

_Everything you say to me_

_Takes me one step closer to the edge_

_And I'm about to break_

_I need a little room to breath_

'_Cause I'm one step closer to the edge_

_And I'm about to break_

_Shut up_

_Shut up when I'm talking to you_

_Shut up_

_Shut up when I'm talking to you_

_Everything you say to me_

_Takes me one step closer to the edge_

_And I'm about to break_

_I need a little room to breath_

'_Cause I'm one step closer to the edge_

_And I'm about to break_

The techno-awesomeness rang into her ears and she held back the urge to scream along very loudly like she would have normally. It almost made her afraid to listen to Linkin Park because she could at any given moment scream "SHUT UP!" as loud as she could involuntarily. Now that could give her strange reputation...

But that's usually what Linkin Park did: empower the rebellious souls of the teens who listened to them.

Going along with the subject of rebellious teenage souls, Videl thought about her evening last night... and her discoveries.

After she ate, she explained to her friends that she already had a bathing suit and really didn't want to go to prom, so she'd skip out on their little pink parade. Instead, she went to explore the mall some more. Five minutes later, she found herself in Boscov's trying on some bermuda shorts. She bought a pair of black jean bermudas, navy blue flared jeans and a purple & black tank top.

After that, she wandered off and found a Kohl's. Before even looking at the junior section, she headed straight for the guy section for indeed, she was a cross-dresser. While in a dressing room to try on a hat, a few t-shirts and some shoes, she couldn't help but to listen to some other woman's conversation... mostly because that was all she could hear.

**Woman #1:** So why exactly did you drag me out here again, Chichi?

**Woman #2:** Because! I needed your opinion on some things!

**Woman #1:** Like what?

**Woman #2:** Like what I should wear when Goku comes back of course!!

**Woman #1:** Ohhhh! So that's why you grabbed the whole rack of dresses! Jeez, Chichi, why do you wanna impress him so much? He's already your husband!

**Woman #2:** I know, I know! But they don't age up there! And I've aged 7 YEARS!! I can't let him see me as an old woman! He might not love me anymore!!

**Woman #1:** And that would explain why you were at the spa...

**Woman #2:** Oh Bulma! Which dress do you like better? The pink and purple or the red?

**Woman #1:** Hmmmm... the red. It kinda rolls with your personality.

**Woman #2:** Alright, I'll buy it. Ohhh... do you think he'll like it??

**Woman #1:** Chichi, wake up! This is SON GOKU we're talking about! He's not exactly one to care about this sort of thing!

_Wait a second... _Videl thought. _Did she just say _Son _Goku?? Wasn't he the champion of the Budokai Tenchikai twenty years ago? And this lady's his wife! No way!_

**Woman #2:** Well, I just don't want him with any other woman but me!

**Woman #1:** Jeez Chichi, I can't believe you don't even trust your own husband to stay true!

**Woman #2:** Well, Bulma, he _has _been gone for _seven years_, you know...

**Woman #1:** Point taken. But Chichi, you _know _he would never cheat on you. Not in _any _circumstance. I mean look at what he's got. He's got a wife who wants to impress him and two kids who need a father.

_If Son Goku had it so good before... then why did he disappear? ...I didn't know he had any kids either... _

**Woman #2:** Yeah... they really do need him...

**Woman #1:** Speaking of them, how are your boys?

**Woman #2:** Oh, well Goten's excited to see his father for the first time. He won't stop talking about it. He's so cute! And he's a spitting image of Goku too!

**Woman #1:** Yep, he's a little cutie! How's Gohan doing?

_--GOHAN?! Nooooo... he can't be the same dude they're talking about!_

**Woman #2:** Oh Bulma... I just don't know what to do with that boy... He hasn't spoken a single word to me in months! He hasn't come to the dinner table in weeks! All he does when he comes home from school is lock himself in his room! I think he's clinically depressed or something terrible like that... And when I do see him, he always wearing those dark, heavy clothes... Oh Bulma... I'm just so worried about him...

_HOLY FREAKING JESUS!! THAT _IS _GOHAN!! But that's impossible!! He's– He's Goku's _SON_?_ _The great "Son Goku" has a gothic kid? ...No fucking way, man..._

**Woman #1:** It's still that bad?

**Woman #2:** ...Yeah... but it's getting worse... He won't even listen to Piccolo...

**Woman #1:** Well... I'll bet that Goku's return'll cheer him up. If anyone could get to Gohan, it'd be his dad.

**Woman #2:** ...I don't know Bulma... I told Gohan about Goku coming for the tournament... but he didn't have the slightest reaction. It was like he didn't even care...

**Woman #1:** Jeez... Well, Chichi, I'm sure Goku could do at least _something _about him. Make sure you tell him on Sunday, okay?

**Woman #2: **Yeah, I suppose that would be best. Ok, so should I go for the red dress?

**Woman #1:** Definitely, let's go pay...

Videl nearly ran after the two women. _GOHAN'S FATHER IS SON GOKU?? _She couldn't believe it.

"It can't be possible! Son Goku is one the Earth's top martial artists!" She said to herself the whole way home. It's not that she doubted Gohan's strength... it was just that he didn't look like much of a fighter. He was extremely pale, very thin... not exactly the stature of a great warrior. The usual body type for a martial artist was a medium height and medium weight. The taller you are, the more you would weigh, and the shorter you were, the less you would weigh. It was always important to fighters to even out your body type for better results in training and in physical performance.

Gohan was simply _tall_ and _lanky_. But there was something about that, that gave him a scary kind of appearance. Like when he approached you, he would just loom right over you and stare at you behind his raged, raven hair, wearing all black, and not say one word. Just stare a hole right through you until you freaked and ran away screaming. But there was something about that... that made Son Gohan all the more interesting. Especially now that she knew some background about him.

While she sat there in the sweaty auditorium listening to _In the End _for the third time, she thought about what else she got from Gohan's mom. So she opened up one of her spare spiral notebooks and took note:

-Son Gohan

1) Never speaks at home or school

2) Has a little brother named Goten

3)Dad is Son Goku

4) His dad has been gone for 7 years & is coming back 4 the B. T.

5) Loves black & dark colors

6) Doesn't seem to like his dad ):

She thought about him some more but was interrupted by a loud yell on the microphone.

"**STUDENTS! PAY ATTENTION! THIS NEXT INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL SO LISTEN UP!!**" Mr. Varns hit a yardstick on a desk on the stage. It made a very loud noise and everyone either shut up, woke up or jumped.

Videl rolled up her headphones and stuck her i-pod in her pocket again and closed her notebook.

"Now hear me out kids! If you fail to cooperate with any of these rules I've just gone over, you will either have the rest of the year in detention, be suspended for a long period of time, kicked out of any academic or athletic club, banned from your proms or homecoming dances, or expelled permanently! This is depending on how severe your case is..."

Again feeling bored and uninterested in what Mr. Varns was saying, Videl decided to scan the people in the crowd. She'd never met a Freshmen, Sophomore, or Junior yet. They all looked the same as the seniors. Same clothes. Same hair styles. It was kinda boring. The only interesting part was seeing the scared look on the freshmen faces because they took the principal seriously. Why wouldn't they? It _was_ only their first year.

Then again... it was her first year too. There was that who rebellious soul thing with Linkin Park again.

Suddenly she stopped in mid-thought. There, on the far end of the auditorium, in the middle of a bunch of seniors was a large, black spot... or figure, rather.

Then she realized it was staring at her.

_It_ was Gohan.

Videl froze and her eyes widened.

She went and wiped her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming. And when she looked back at him, he was staring up at the stage, intently listening to Mr. Varn's lecture.

Had she been day dreaming. How could she tell if that had been real or a figment of her imagination? Perhaps it was a mirage. But then again, mirages only happen in deserts, not in high school auditoriums... or do they?

"With that said, you are all dismissed to your lockers to go home."

All at once there was hustle and bustle... The lecture took up the entire day. Jeez...

Later on, Videl escaped from her own personal mosh pit of popular kids to the solitude of her locker. It had been so hot in that room with all of the other students, and she was really exhausted. She gathered up a few books and stuffed them in her bag.

Suddenly, a thick, black textured folder fell out of her locker. It landed flat on the floor before her.

She picked it up and felt the texture and the red engravement around it. It seemed like the type of folder used to keep something from bending or folding.

With a little hesitation, she opened the folder and nearly dropped everything she held.

...it was the picture she'd watched Gohan create yesterday...

She couldn't believe it. He... he... _gave_ it... to _her_!

A few simple phrases crossed her mind. Like:

_OH MY GOD_

_OH MY GOD_

_OH MY GOD_

_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!_

It was so beautiful. She didn't get a chance to see it when it was colored. And wow, was it gorgeous... but why did he give it to _her?_

Out of curiousity, Videl flipped the picture over. That's where she got her answer. There was a question written on the back.

**Will you be my friend? **

As soon as she saw those words, her heart seemed to stop.

He _wanted _to be her friend. He _really_ wanted to be her friend!

Videl scanned the words over and over again in disbelief. Before, she had thought he wanted nothing to do with her, like she bothered him or something. Now... he wanted her friendship. He really, _really _did!

She slipped the picture back into the folder and hugged it close to her, like she was protecting it, and then glanced down the hallway. Nobody was looking at her. And _he _was nowhere to be found.

Then an idea hit her.

_YES!! _She thought. _I'll get something for him in return! _

She smiled and slung her bag over her shoulder, still protectively holding the folder as she walked down the hall towards the exit of the school.

_I'll get him something that he'll really love..._

_...but what?_


	6. Speak

**No Way Back Chapter VI:** **Speak**

Stress. Nervousness. Fear. Sweat.

Locked in his room, Gohan sat, back against his bed, flicking a lighter on and off repeatedly. The anxiety of waiting for tomorrow... waiting for Videl's answer... was destroying him; bending him all out of shape.

His breathing was heavy and his lip was trembling.

_What if she said no?_

_What would I do?_

But he knew what he would do. He just couldn't think of it. It was that bad.

Before he fell any deeper into his own self-created darkness, he managed to break away and focus on something else... Like how freaking hot it was today. It must've scratched 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the assembly at school. He needed a new hoodie. One not so heavy so he wouldn't have a heat stroke. And also some new t-shirts.

Deciding that would be a good distraction from reality, Gohan grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and counted his money.

Just a little less than 80. That might get him one hoodie and two shirts.

Slipping on his fingerless gloves, he got up and slipped the lighter into his pocket and made sure his sketchbook was out of sight, even though he locked his door. There was always a chance someone would sneak in.

"Okay sweetie, would you set the table for me please?" Chichi asked Goten.

"Okay mommy." Like he had a choice?

He grabbed two placemats, set them on the kitchen table, and then did the same with two plates, and two glasses. Before he set out the chopsticks, he froze. Gohan had entered the kitchen.

On entrance, Chichi stopped as well. It was really rare to see Gohan out of his room after he came home from school.

Gohan noticed the stares from his family, but ignored them like he did most everything. Without stopping, he headed for the front door.

"G-gohan? Sweetheart... w-where are you going?" Chichi asked quietly. It wasn't like him to be seen... let alone out in the open.

He didn't stop or slow down one bit.

"Gohan?"

He was gone.

"Mommy?" Goten walked up and pulled on his mom's apron after awhile.

"Yes Goten?" Chichi looked down at the little boy. He was so innocent... he didn't understand why his brother was so secluded. How could he understand?

"Will Gohan be happy when daddy comes home?"

She couldn't tell him truthfully what she thought. It would break his little heart if she said anything else but yes. Goten really did love Gohan. He wanted his big brother to love him and to be happy.

"Yes, Goten." She tried to smile as reassuringly as she could. "I think your daddy will cheer Gohan right up."

Goten smiled in delight. That's what he wanted the most.

Chichi looked at him lovingly. He was such an adorable little guy.

_'I really hope your daddy will be able to change him...'_

Gohan was at the mall within 5 minutes. Flying was always the fastest way to anywhere. That's what made it so convenient.

Much like at school, he got many stares and disapproving looks from pedestrians in the parking lot and inside. He was used to _that _thankfully.

It took him no time at all to find his favorite store: The one and only Hot Topic.

There were only about three people inside, but that was common. They looked at him and nodded in approval. That was one of many reasons he loved going to Hot Topic, they had all the clothes he ever needed, and the few people inside actually accepted him.

First priority: two tees.

He looked on the wall of t-shirts and took his time picking out the two he wanted.

He settled with a Skid Row t-shirt that was black with a red & grey Skid Row logo on it. His next choice was grey Metallica t-shirt that had the '...and justice for all' logo on it.

Second priority: a lightweight hoodie.

He looked around and all through the hoodies in the store. The only problem was that he would like to have ALL of them.

After some difficulty in choosing. He found "the one": an all black, lightweight hoodie with a picture of Eric Draven from "The Crow" on it.

So with all of that figured out... he still wanted to look at the tripp pants. Even if he had to wait until he got the money to buy a new pair... he still had to look. Just to stay longer in the store, he would look.

What he didn't know, was that someone was watching him...

From outside Hot Topic's entrance, Videl was peering in on her Goth-boy. And she had been for 10 minutes.

"How can I buy him something if he's _in_ there?" she whispered to herself, frustrated.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

She waited until he was in the far corner of the store, not facing the register. And when he was there, she darted into the store, directly up to the cashier.

"Ok," she whispered to the girl at the register, "You see that dude over there?" She pointed to where Gohan was. The cashier nodded. "I want to pay for the t-shirts and hoodie he's picked out. Here," she handed the girl two hundred dollar bills, "make sure when he comes up to pay, you let him know that there's enough change here to let him buy those tripp pants he's looking at right now."

"...Umm... o-okay..." the cashier took the bill.

"Oh!" Videl whispered again. "And also, give him this–" she took out a scrap of paper from her pocket and scribbled something on it. "Thank you!" and she ran off.

"Uhh.. You're welcome.. ?" The girl at the register said quietly.

Right as Videl disappeared, Gohan was ready to pay.

He walked up to the register and took out his wallet.

"Don't bother, your stuff's been paid for, and you can get a pair of tripp pants too." She said with a bit of a confused look.

Gohan looked at her with a "WTF?" expression for a second, then shrugged and grabbed the pair he wanted.

As the cashier added the prices together, stuffed the clothing into a bag, and handed him the change, Gohan asked her:

"... who?"

"I dunno." the girl shrugged her shoulders. "This crazy girl just _ran_ in here and demanded that she pay for _your_ stuff– oh! And she wanted me to give you this." She handed him the scrap piece of paper.

"Thanks." he said quietly and walked out.

Once out of the store, he opened up the paper.

It bore only one word:

yes

But that was all he needed to feel the tears drip down his cheek.

A friend.

He actually, officially had a friend.

Not his parent's friend. Not someone else's friend.

_His _friend.

It was so much at once. Gohan just stood right there at the entrance to Hot Topic and literally balled his eyes out, like he was letting all of his emotions out. Even if it was only for about 10 seconds, because he then realized that his one and only friend was getting away…

Without even bothering to collect himself, without even putting a stop to his crying, Gohan began to run.

He knew Videl couldn't have gotten far. And he just couldn't let her get away...

He had to dodge people by the dozens, and shove them if necessary, but finally, he saw the back of her figure walking about 30 feet away. He would _not _let her get away... Not this time.

_Well, I hope_ _that got through... _Videl thought as she walked down the aisle of stores. She felt happy and good inside for giving him the things he wanted: tripp pants and her friendship. But at the same time, she almost felt afraid. Afraid of him changing his mind and remaining isolated from her, never to reach out for friends.

She sighed. Maybe she _would _have to live out her senior year with fake smiles and fake friends. If only–

WHAAMM!

Before Videl could even finish her thought, she felt something bony and soft wrap around her, squeezing her and lifting her off of the ground.

She was too shocked to speak as she kicked around in the phantom grasp with her mind racing:

_HOLY SHIT! RAPIST!! HELP!! HELP!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!_

But after a few minutes she realized something.

Whatever, or whoever was holding her had long black sleeves, a gazillion bracelets, fingerless gloves, and ghostly white skin.

She wasn't being attacked or raped... she was being... _hugged._

Hugged by...

...Gohan.

Videl stopped wiggling around. After 2 seconds, she was put down.

She spun around, her heart racing, and saw exactly what she wanted to see.

"...So after my mom died, my dad took up wrestling and was surprisingly good at it. And that's when he was first famous and started getting all cocky. Then, after he killed Cell, he became like... the world's obsession! So now we live in this freakishly huge mansion with the paparazzi hounding us everyday. It sucks, if you ask me. I'd rather just be a normal person, you know? So I could just fit in and not be attacked by people who are fake and don't want me for me, but as some celebrity..."

Videl sighed, finishing the basic outline of her life story. After being officially named as Gohan's friend, he had asked her about her life and she just gave him the whole scoop as they walked.

In the amount of time it took for her to explain her story to him, they were already out in the mall parking lot.

"So yeah, that's pretty much it... Not that special or anything..." Videl shrugged.

Gohan stopped walking, keeping his eyes on the ground. "...I'd like to know... even more about you... if that's... ok..."

Videl looked up at him curiously. Since they'd begun talking, he hadn't looked at her once. Only at the ground. Was he... afraid?

"Sure," she said, "ask away. I'm an open book."

If it weren't for the darkness shadowing his face just then, she could have sworn he just smiled.

"…Why do hang out with them… if you dislike them…?" Gohan asked in his quiet voice.

That was a good question.

"Hmmm…uhh, well, I guess it's mostly because I was the new kid. I pretty much accepted all of the friendship I got because I didn't know anyone yet. And now… I'm kinda afraid to call it quits because of… well, you know…" she sighed knowing that Gohan knew all to well what she meant. "Their… judgmental… ness…".

There was another one of those sad looks from him again.

"Say, why _do _you let them call you names and stuff…?" she asked.

He remained quiet for a moment as they continued to venture through the dark parking lot. The silence was so thick; you cut slice it with a knife.

"I'm sorry." Videl sulked. "That was a nosy question…"

"…No" he said, "it's… alright." Sliding his hands into his pockets, he began to speak:

"I… I don't really… know… I guess. There was a time… when I did try… to stick up for myself… That usually resulted… in more… _torment_… on my part… Since then… I've simply remained… silent…".

Videl was wide-eyed with curiosity. "Like... _completely_?"

"...Yes."

"Wow… how is that even _possible _to do?"

"Well… this is the most I've spoken… in over seven… eight months…" he said lowly, head still facing downwards.

Videl's mouth was completely agape.

"EIGHT MONTHS?" she shouted in outrage. She couldn't believe it. How could a person remain silent for that long?

She asked herself that question at least 7 times in her head until she noticed Goth-boy's facial expression.

He looked many things: ashamed, sad, guilty…

"Gohan," she stopped in front of him, making him stop, and looked up into his dark, ebony eyes, "…would you like to hang at my place?"

Another smile crept up onto his face and vaguely shook his head.

"Great! Let's go!"

"I'm sorry we had to walk." Said a tired, yet energetic Videl. "I was gonna take my car but I needed the excerise, so… yeah." She shrugged. "Sorry."

"It's okay… I don't mind..." Replied Gohan in his soft, deep voice.

Videl liked listening to his voice. She almost felt prideful, that no one got to hear his voice except for her. And for someone who didn't talk much, it was a very lovely voice. It was so deep and awe filling. When he spoke, it was as if everything else around them silenced.

She wanted to hear more.

"Um… so… what's your favorite color?" she asked. _Way to start conversation, Vid._

He slowed a bit at gave her a strange glance. He knew she wasn't serious, just desperate for words. Out of his newfound hope, he decided to muse her.

"…guess."

"—oh geez!" she slapped her forehead. "That was friggen stupid question. Sorry!" she pleaded yet again. Why did she have to act like such a retard?

His smile grew wider. Even though it was foreign to him, and it sure as hell didn't feel right… he sort of liked it.

"...Well… what's yours?"

Videl cocked her head to the side and folded her arms.

"Well… I'm really not into the whole pinky thing… but I dig pretty much all the colors. Blues and greens especially." She stated more like she just decided for herself. "Except… I hate them in like polos and stuff." She wriggled her nose. "Now that I think of it, I hate everything remotely preppyish… So I guess that makes me just as judgmental as them."

She could hear him give a smiling sigh. "…They tried to make me wear it… when I first came here..."

"Seriously? They tried to make you into a bloodsucking, polo wearing-nymph?"

"…Yes… I would normally wear my jeans and just a band shirt… But they wouldn't have it… I had to wear pink shirts… those shorts that look like a fucking picnic blanket… flip flops… and short hair…" his voice became grim and angry.

It wasn't quite a gasp, but when Gohan faced his shorter companion, all he could see was her eyes wide and shock across her face.

"No way." She managed to breathe.

He nodded solemnly, remembering his past. "…When I refused to look and act like them… they didn't understand… So naturally, …they did what they always do."

Videl walked silently next to him, eyes still fixed on his shadowed face.

"…Discriminate…"

The word seemed to bring pain with it, a boatload of pain.

There was silence for a few moments before she couldn't stand it any longer.

"…Then what?" her sullen soprano voice beckoned.

He shrugged his broad, long shoulders. "…I… let it get to me."

Videl was silent... What could she say? It's not like she could change his past, make his traumatic memories fade away... Well, maybe she had a shot at changing the future.


	7. Signs of Life

**No Way Back Chapter VII: ****Signs of Life**

After successfully sneaking in through the balcony, the two raven-haired teens entered Miss Satan's luxurious room.

Videl couldn't help but scurry around, picking up dirty clothes or undergarments that were strewn around. Normally, she could've cared less what her house guests thought of her room, but with Gohan… she felt… _compulsive_—almost like she wanted to impress him.

_Well, he _is _my only friend… my only "real" friend…_

She threw her dirty laundry into a hamper and ran to the bathroom, making sure all feminine utilities were out of sight. Then, continuing on her rampage, she made her bed, put away her laptop, shoved notebooks into drawers and was just about to apologize until she saw him.

In the corner of her bedroom, he stood, staring a hole through the wall.

"…Gohan…?" she asked confused, taking a step towards him.

He didn't respond or move at all, his expression almost… shock?

"What's wrong?" she asked skeptically.

A tender smile graced the gothic teen's lips. He was gazing at a picture—_his _picture, of the tree and cycles of life. It hung proudly in the middle of Videl's wall with a gorgeous black frame surrounding it, making it complete. His smile grew.

"…You framed it." He said almost inaudibly, with a fair amount of enthusiasm.

Videl beamed at him, taking a step forward. "Of course I framed it! It's amazing—beautiful! How could I not?"

Gohan felt a rush of warmth. She wasn't lying to appease him or faking whatsoever. Of that, he could tell. She was serious. He smiled wider.

"Thank you."

It was like the sun breaking through the clouds, his smile. Videl couldn't help but to beam back at him, feeling so dazzled.

Looking back at the wall, Gohan followed every picture and poster that was pinned up. So many bands and comics, concert tickets and movie posters—so much character her room had! He noted everything there—the walls, ceiling, furniture—everything had meaning and personality. Then something shiny and reflective caught his eye, making him freeze suddenly again.

Videl again had an inner heart attack. "Gohan—"

He turned to her with bright luminous eyes, almost euphoric looking. Videl was taken back by his expression, utterly shocked. He pointed to the sitting room.

"…You play?" he asked.

She smiled, almost jumping with joy. "Yeah! I love percussion!" She ran over to her sitting room that unveiled a state-of-the-art drumset with a fire finish. He followed quickly in pursuit, seeming very excited himself.

He bent down, studying the set thoroughly. "…Impressive." Another smile came about. "What do you play?"

Videl cocked her head to the side. "Well, anything really. I like songs with a lot of drums—crazy stuff!" She laughed a little.

Gohan rose again, swamping her in height. "Like what?" He seemed so eager.

"Intricate stuff, like RUSH, Maiden, 'tallica, Boston… Stuff like that. The more intense the better!"

"All of those bands. I love them." He said with a sense of pride. This friendship idea was getting better by the second.

Videl beamed brighter. "That's awesome! You know, I've honestly never met anyone with the same taste in music as me. I mean, I had a lot of friends back where I used to live that loved rock—which was cool and all—but not a match to me. Most of them liked punk, which I have a hard time liking. But yeah, I was always 'Videl the Metalhead'." Her smile faded away with a sigh as she reminisced and she sat down on her bed. "You know, I'd almost forgotten how good I had it back in Tokyo—and I fucking hate my dad for making me leave it! I had really good friends and a great life. So apparently just because my dad has the world eating out of his hands and gets everything his heart desires means he can up and leave one day, taking me with him with no regard to my life!" She clenched her hands into fists as she fumed. She really wasn't over the move just yet.

Feeling a little sad for her, Gohan sat down next to her on the bed. "Would you tell me about it?"

"What?" She muttered.

"Your life… What you were so fond of before your dad……"

"Oh!" She slid back into a smile. "Well, sure. But where should I start…?" She wondered, cocking her head.

"What was your school like?..."

"Aw man, my high school years rocked—especially my senior year before I—… yeah. Everything was so chill. The teachers and classes were close to fun—and everyone was nice to everyone. All the preps, sportysports, jocks, punks, divas, emos, nerds, band geeks, druggies, homos, freaks, Goths—everyone. It was so awesome because you never had to worry or watch your back." She sighed again. "But now… now I always have to be on guard and tense—and I feel so paranoid all the time! Christ…"

An awkward silence followed for a little bit…

…up until Videl giggled.

"What?" Gohan asked, a little surprised.

The girl looked up at the Goth and smiled. "If TJ were here, he'd just tell me to light a bong and 'Relaaaaaaax'." She laughed again.

Gohan hid behind his hair and asked meekly, "Who's TJ…?" _Maybe she doesn't need me after all…_

"Oh god, TJ." She facepalmed, laughing. "Well, he was my best friend back at my old school. Let's just say that. Haha." Smiling again.

More sadness fell over the hybrid. "…Your boyfriend?" His voice grew quieter. If she had a boyfriend, how would she have time for a friend like him?

Videl bust out into laughter, startling Gohan. "Hell no! Oh man, he's a pothead and a douche." She laughed some more. "He's a bud, but he's such a womanizer. There's no way I could keep up with him! And plus, he's probably got like six girlfriends right now. One's never enough for him. But man do I ever miss him."

Just as his heart fell, Gohan immediately felt better, coming out from behind his hair.

"You'd probably like him, he was really into the '70's, and 'Zeppelin was his absolute favorite."

"I love Led Zeppelin." Gohan said, brightening up.

"Me too. That's what we would do most of the time, just drive around blaring the classics in his shitty convertible." She laid down on her bed. "And then there was Mistee. She was my best friend when I was a junior until her parents made her transfer to a Catholic school in America."

"Fuck." Gohan said aloud, disgusted.

"Yeah I know, but it's all good now. She graduated last year so she's free."

"But… Catholic school? …Of all things?"

"My jaw was hanging open when she told me. It was such a shock because her parents never gave a fuck most of the time. That and Mistee was a devout cybergoth. She was so cool!"

Gohan lit up. "…That's one of my favorite sub cultures. I love it."

"Yeah! And man, did she have the coolest clothes. I don't know where she got it all, but she sure had epic taste." Videl shifted up onto her elbows.

"…Probably the internet." Gohan cocked his head.

"Yeah, I mean Hot Topic has nice stuff, but only basic stuff. A real Goth couldn't create their entire getup from there. You know? Well of course you know, you're a Goth." She grinned.

Gohan gave a low chuckle. "Yes, for the most part… I'm turning into a mall-Goth though…I'd like to find a legitimate leather store… Or the website your friend used…"

Suddenly Videl gasped and stood up, startling Gohan yet again.

"I just remembered!" she slapped her hand to her forehead. "Before Mistee left, she wasn't allowed to take her stuff with her because… well you know, Catholic school. She ended up giving me a bunch of her stuff!"

Gohan gave a confused glance. "Why haven't you worn any? You said you liked it…"

"I do! I mean… she really was my best friend and it took me a long time to get over her leaving—months even." She crossed her arms. "I was so upset, I took everything she gave me and put it in storage, because it all reminded me of her. She looked after me, like a big sister… It was hard. And after awhile, I forgot about everything. But I think they must have been put in my closet when we moved. So maybe…" she pondered, glancing over towards her closet door. "Yeah! Come on!" she grabbed Gohan's hand and pulled him along to the closet.

****

"No—no… no, no, no—wait—no. Uhh… yes?—no… no."

In her gigantic closet, Videl scurried about, searching for her best friend's clothes as Gohan looked on awkwardly and silent. With Videl able to handle this feat, Gohan couldn't help but to check out her stuff.

He liked her wardrobe a lot. There were a lot of cut off jeans, cargo pants, and band shirts. It wasn't rocket science to see how independent she was from the norm. Very laid back.

"AHA!" she yelled, startling Gohan again, making him jump.

She was in the far corner of the closet, standing on top of two bins, clearly wobbling underneath her. With all her might, she still couldn't reach it. Jumping down, she looked over at Gohan and smiled.

"Say Gohan… would you be a pal?"

Gohan gave a silent laugh and walked over to the shelf, grabbing the boxes and setting them down with great ease and no need to stand on anything.

Videl raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Whoa! Gohan…"

He turned to her with an innocent look, always fearful.

"You are really, _really_, tall." She declared. "How tall are you?"

He looked confused and shrugged his shoulders. He'd never really measured himself ever, he was what he was.

"I'll bet you're over six feet! Come here!" She grabbed his arm and led him to another wall with measuring lines. She then pushed him against it and made him stand up straight. "Stay here, don't move." She instructed.

Grabbing a few of the boxes he had just moved down, she slid them over and stood on top, just barely making it over Gohan's head.

"Ok," she muttered, patting Gohan's wild hair down to touch his skull to the wall. "Damn! You're six foot three! And six foot seven if you include your hair. Wow…" She jumped down and looked up at him. "I'm only five four…"

He half smiled. "There's nothing wrong with that…"

After an awkward moment passed, Videl perked up and opened the boxes. There were eight in total.

She ended up dumping it all out…

"Holy shit! Mistee had A LOT of clothes!" Videl exclaimed, rummaging through all the dresses, skirts, corsets, bondage pants, tights, tees, belts, shoes, boots, hats, gloves… There was so much, so much to take in. A lot of the loot was leather, pleasing both the teens.

"Hold the phone, another box?" Videl asked herself, sliding the box over. It was rather large. She opened it up and smiled, then looked at Gohan. "Mistee must have also given me her old boyfriend, Tatsuka's clothes along with this. He rapidly changed into an emo one day and gave Mistee everything he had that was Gothic." She slid the box to him. "It's all yours." And she continued rummaging.

Gohan knelt down to the box and opened it.

"I can't accept this…"

"Well it's not like_ I'm_ gonna wear it, go ahead Gohan, check it out." She said, not stopping.

He quietly said "Thank you.", and began to go through it.

Fishnet, leather pants, shredded jeans, tees, vests, leather everything, boots, sneakers… Gothic galore! Gohan lit up and even felt a tinge of… excitement. A big smile appeared on his face. I mean really, he'd made a friend, a really good friend at that from the looks of it, and acquired the killer wardrobe he desired in one day! Damn.

He was so caught up in this joy that he didn't notice he was being stared at.

Turning his head, "Gah!", he flinched when he saw her inches from his face, sporting a massive grin.

"Do you like it?!" She squealed.

He nodded shakily. "Yes, it's perfect. How can I thank you—"

"Hey don't sweat it, that's what friends are for! Consider it taking a load off me." He smiled again. "Now!" she declared, "We need to see if this stuff fits you incase I have to get it tailored. You can use my bathroom."

"That's unnecessary—"

"No its not, they need to fit properly, otherwise they're useless."

"Videl, really…" He replied modestly, feeling like a burden.

Videl felt a tinge of warmth surge in her cheeks as he said her name. She liked the sound of it.

"Gohan, trust me." She laid a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him. "I love finding ways to spend my dad's money. It'll be a good investment." She smirked, pushing him towards the bathroom. "Here." She handed him a pair of leather pants and closed the door.

A minute later, Gohan emerged with the leather pants on, making Videl gasp.

-Number one: he looked devilishly _gorgeous _in them

-Number two: He was skinnier than she had originally thought, but… muscular.

At least his legs were. The pants were decently tight on him, which showed off his toned thighs and calves. She had to admit, he was pretty hot. _Weird for him to be hated in school… Most girls would die for those legs… _But then again, no one could ever tell because he wore baggy clothes. Not even she could tell until now… She felt a little bad now. Her initial thoughts of him from school included the words tall and twig. _Well yeah, he's crazy tall and skinny… but not a twig, for sure. More of a stick. Or maybe a thin branch…_

Gohan stood in place awkwardly as Videl looked at him, not really paying attention.

"…What do you think…?" he said softly, a little fearful he might receive a critique.

Videl snapped out of her gaze and smiled brightly. "You look awesome! You really do!" She cheered. "But… "

_No—oh god, she's going to say I look terrible and hideous and—_

"They're just a little too short. Only by a few inches." She calculated.

He looked down at his feet. She was right. His ankles were bare, making him look a little funny.

_Oh…_

"That's ok, I know the best tailor around, so it'll only be a week or two before you can have all the pants. But go ahead and take all the other gear." She grinned, looking satisfied with her diagnosis.

The saiyan boy couldn't help but to feel so happy. "Thank you." He said, really meaning it, before he went and changed again.

****

On Videl's big bed they chatted and chatted. It was mostly Videl telling her stories whenever Gohan became intrigued with an item or article in her room, which was nearly everything.

"…Yeah, that was the craziest concert of my life, so I had to take a picture."She laughed along with Gohan's quieter laugh as they looked at her framed photograph of Ozzy Osbourne on stage throwing pig guts into the crowd.

Gohan quickly became silent when his eye fell on the clock.

2:39 am.

"…I should go." He said regretfully, standing up and grabbing the box of goodies. He turned to her. "…Thank you for letting me stay."

"Wait—don't you need a ride home? I can take you in my plane—"

He shook his head. "No need."

Sighing, Videl backed down. "…Goodbye." She said a little sad.

Gohan trudged to the window, feeling a little down himself now.

He turned once more, and she took note. He had been avoiding her eyes all day, but now, he gazed at her, seeming to peer into her very soul.

"…Its nice to have a friend…"

The words were low, but she heard them.

And after a moment of hesitation, he disappeared.

She ran to her balcony, peering over the railing.

No one was there.

-Yes! now it's getting somewhere!! I'm sorry this is so crazy late... I hope you all like it even though its focussed on clothes xP stay tuned for the next chapter -Vlad


	8. The Gold Fighter

**No Way Back Chapter VIII: The Gold Fighter**

Videl pushed the accelerator to the floor, turning hard into the student parking. With a quick slam on the breaks, her Jeep stopped and she shifted into park. Then, without hesitation, she bolted from her car, heading for the school entrance.

Her morning was less than great… Although she had a blast hanging out with Gohan, going to bed so late caused her to wake up late, which in turn made her miss breakfast. So now she was panicking about making the bell on time _and _her stomach was growling like a wild beast.

Still running as fast as her legs could, she glanced through the glass doors of the entrance where a clock was.

_SHIT! Less than a minute—I'm not going to make it in time—_

"HELP! SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE! ROBBERS!"

Videl halted, almost tripping over herself. The screams continued—there were several people shouting and gunshots followed right after. The sounds weren't very loud, but they couldn't have been more than a few blocks away.

She couldn't just ignore the screaming—people were in trouble! Without a second thought, she turned her heel and made a mad dash for source of the screams and gunshots.

_Teachers better not give me any shit for this!_

When she rounded the corner, she saw a bank with a large, black van parked out front. Two men were in the back of the van, armed with tommy guns, another sat in the driver's seat, also armed. By the looks of it, they were keeping the surrounding pedestrians at bay, making sure no vigilantes would pop up.

Two more men suddenly ran out of the bank's front doors, carrying bags of cash and jewels. One of the men, with his free hand, made several shots to the sky, warning everyone to back off.

One of the shots ricocheted off of a building and flew right past Videl. Before she could think to hold it in, she screamed. The robbers turned and spotted her just as she leapt for the cover of a nearby parked car. She held her hands tightly over her mouth as gunshots began to pelt the other side of the car.

_Dammit! This is bad! _She shouted in her head. _I have to do SOMETHING—!_

"STOP! HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

The yells echoed throughout the street. They sounded more angry than anything. Videl figured it must have been the robbers, considering the gunshots towards her had ceased. Now the shots being fired had a different target. Did the police finally show up?

The black-clad robbers kept shouting and firing—but at what? Or who? She needed to know. She didn't want innocent people die.

_Dammit! _She swallowed her fear and stood up, peering through the broken glass of the disheveled car. The view wasn't the clearest. She saw the villains shooting upwards at something, but she couldn't tell what. It looked bright—like it was emanating fire or something weird.

She gasped when the black van suddenly flipped onto its side and skidded down the street by some unknown force. A few of the robbers fell out of the vehicle along the way. They were now unarmed and looked wounded, trying to crawl away. The men still inside the destroyed van must have been unconscious from the blow. There was no way they would walk away unscathed.

There was silence for a moment until sirens blared louder and louder, finally arriving at the bank. It was the police.

_If that wasn't the police… What the hell—?_

Videl ran out from the cover of the automobile, taking in the full scene for herself.

Astounding. It looked like a war had taken place in those few minutes. The van was at least a hundred feet from where it was originally parked, and completely totaled. The men in black were bloodied and beaten to a pulp, littering the asphalt, and their weapons, as well as the money, were strewn all over the place.

As the police officers began vacating their cars and cuffing the criminals, other people started to show themselves, having hid behind cars and other buildings. They all gasped and pointed and talked amongst themselves about what had just happened. Wanting to know that herself, Videl walked over to a group of pedestrians who must have had a better view than hers. The handful of people gossiped and raved about the events:

"Can you believe it?"

"Oh my god, it happened so fast!"

"It must have been an angel in disguise!"

The raven-haired teen stepped forward, anxious for answers. "Who? Who are you talking about?" She prompted.

One middle aged woman turned to her. "What, sweetie?"

Videl grunted. "Who did all of this?" She beckoned to the wreckage surrounding them. "Who attacked those robbers? Did you see them? How did they—"

"Some young man!" The woman exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "Oh it was amazing! He just came out of nowhere and light came from his hands! The dodged all the bullets and blew the van over with fire!"

"Are you talking about the Gold Fighter?" A nerdy kid ran up, throwing his question at the woman. He then looked up at Videl. "He's so cool! And he could fly—just like a real super hero!"

Videl cocked her head. "Gold Fighter?" Sounded like a cheesy wrestler name.

"Oh yes!" The woman declared. "He had long, golden blonde hair that glowed! I tell you, he must have been an angel!"

Never much believing in that stuff, Videl didn't buy that answer. It was _someone_. Someone from around here.

"Did you see what he was wearing?" She asked. She wanted to find him now. The story just didn't add up. What kind of good guy just hits and runs? She suddenly felt determined to track this stranger down.

"Well…" The woman started. "All black, from what I could tell. Kind of weird for an angel, but how else can you explain that beautiful, golden hair?" She gushed.

Inwardly rolling her eyes, Videl took a step back. She would have to begin her search later… after school. _I've already missed a class's worth. Better not miss any more._

"Uh, thanks." She muttered before turning to jog back to Orange Star High.

_All black, huh? The only person I know who wears all black is Gohan. _She laughed aloud as she ran. _But he also has the darkest_ _hair I've ever seen. I doubt he'd _ever _go blonde!_

* * *

Before gracing the classroom with her tardy presence, Videl decided it would be best to freshen up in the girl's room. She could only imagine what running ramped and being repeatedly shot at had left her looking like.

Luckily, the bathroom was empty, so she parked herself right in front of a mirror, holding in a cringe from the sight that greeted her. The light shade of charcoal that gently graced her lower eyelids was smudged and smeared all over her eyes from sweat. She barely wore any eye makeup, yet the eyes of a half abused scene-kid looked back at her.

"Nope. Not happening."

Pulling a paper towel from the dispenser, she ran it under some water and wiped the gunk off of her face until a normal looking seventeen year old appeared. After all of that, she really felt no desire to reapply the liner or shadow. What was the point? She sighed.

"Now about that hair…" She stated dryly to herself, glaring at her reflection. _If you can call it that._

Her normally tame locks looked like a mass of black frizz. She fished through her Type O Negative sachel for a hairbrush, relieved when she finally found it.

As she repeatedly combed through her thick, layered strands, her mind wandered again to the "Gold Fighter" from earlier. How could one man possibly do all of that damage? Human beings aren't that strong! No one could have single handedly taken out a whole mob of armed robbers. And what about all of that "Gold" nonsense? Glowing hair? Flying? There's no way. The guy must have been some kind of magician to make such a light show.

"Gahh." She whined, raking the brush bristles through a knot. Whatever. She would figure this puzzle out eventually.

Her hair looked halfway decent when she was finished. It was still frizzy, but not a monstrosity at least. The extra volume actually looked kinda neat—like a rock star from the eighties. She could definitely dig that.

She did one last check before leaving, reassembling her outfit. All of that hoopla left her skirt and shirt twisted and pulled awkwardly around her body, and her boots scuffed to the max. She'd decided to wear some of Mistee's clothes today, after reuniting with them the night before.

One final look revealed a more put together Videl Satan—like nothing had ever happened. She wore a white, altered The Cure tank top that had once been a t-shirt, a jean miniskirt riddled with tears and holes, black leggings that went to the knee, and black leather buckle-boots that just hit the upper calf.

Videl couldn't help but smile. Thanks to Mistee (and her frizzy eighties hair), she felt like a rock goddess. A confident one that could face the day.

Grabbing her bag, she wondered if Gohan would like her look today…

* * *

_Dammit. Goddammit. _Gohan cursed in his head. He'd spent too long in the bathroom trying to wash up and remove all of the rubble from his hair and clothes.

He trudged down the hallway now, kicking himself mentally. _I shouldn't have stopped. I should have ignored the screams. What the fuck am I gonna to do if I get caught? Why did I go and intervene? _But he knew better. If he _didn't _stop and save those people, his conscious would never let him live it down. But just look at the predicament he was in now! He was late—which is something his mother would be hearing about and something _he_ would never hear the end of, and now he had to walk into class alone, in front of everyone. It would be a walk of shame, no less.

He gave a low growl, under his breath. It wasn't fair! Why should he be ridiculed for being a Good Samaritan? He growled again. _Goddammit—_

Just as he walked past the girl's bathroom, the door flung open, startling him as it hit his shoulder. He step-tripped forward, now broken away from his thoughts. Whirling around, he found his assailant was actually his friend.

"Oh Gohan!" Videl wheezed out, red embarrassment tingeing her face. "I'm so sorry! Oh god—are you okay?" Her eyes were wide with concern and shame.

Actually, he _was _okay, at least now that she was here. She always seemed to save him from his thoughts when they were at their worst. He nodded. "It didn't hurt…" He said shyly and actually smiled a bit, for her sake.

She looked relieved and sighed. "Gosh," she breathed out, "I have a knack for doing that, don't I?" She smiled back at him. "I guess I'm just an abusive friend, haha." She laughed quietly, and he did too.

Now that her face was no longer warm from being an embarrassing ditz, she got a chance to soak the tall boy in. "Whoa, look at you! Are those your new pants?" She asked, pointed to the Tripps.

"Oh… yeah." He replied, looking down at his pantaloons for a moment. Then he looked back up. "Thank you, again… for paying for them."

Videl beamed. "No problem! They look great on you!" Well, they did. They were all black with black trim and detail, and were adorned with a few small zippers and straps. The fit was great too. They were a bit snugger than his usual bondage pants, really hugging his hips and thighs, and instead of a wide-leg flare, they settled into more of a boot-cut style. Totally sexy. His whole outfit was. Under his big Metallica hoodie, she could make out a form-fitting black t-shirt with a faded pentagram insignia, which slightly accentuated his pectorals.

She couldn't help but imagine just how muscular he really was. After seeing how toned his legs were yesterday, she supposed the rest of his body was the same…

"Oh—uhh…" She sputtered, snapping back into reality. "Say, Gohan… What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be in class?"

_Oh shit. Right— _"I, uhh… overslept." He quickly said. _Perfect! _"Yeah… You know, because of last night…" He trailed off, meekly.

She laughed, grinning up at him. "I don't blame ya. I did too. I was almost late, but I live so close that I was okay."

_Phew… _He was glad she bought it. But now he was curious.

"If you weren't late… then what are you doing out here?" _Shit. Why did I just ask that? _He instantly regretted the question. It was too intrusive.

"Oh, actually," she began, reminded of the morning's events, "when I pulled into school this morning, I heard lots of screaming and some gunshots, so I ran over to the next block to see what was up. A bunch of robbers were taking the bank! And apparently, while I was taking cover behind a car, some strange guybeat the shit out of them and just slaughtered their van! All of the victims and other pedestrians wouldn't stop talking about him."

Gohan paled. _Shit, shit, SHIT. What if they figure out it's me?_

Maybe no one recognized him, he hoped. He'd better check and make sure. "Did they know who he was?"

Videl rolled her eyes. "Nope. These people were talking crazy, calling the guy an 'angel' and saying he could fly and glow like some superhero. Total bullshit, right?" She laughed.

"Hah, yeah…" He laughed with her, secretly feeling intense relief inside.

"The only decent information I could get out of them was his outfit and his hair."

The Gothic teen paled again. So they _did _know what he looked like—they could still catch him!

"I thought it might be you for half a second, because they claimed he was wearing all black." She smiled, nudging his arm. "But that's impossible—the guy was bleach blonde. Definitely not you!" She giggled.

Another intense rush of relief filled Gohan's head. _Thank Dende._ He was safe.

"Well… I guess we should get back to class now…" She said drearily, watching Gohan's expression go from content to utter despair. The drastic change made her wish she never mentioned class at all.

The tall boy's feet remained planted on the floor and he bowed his head. "I really don't want to go in there…" He muttered, barely audible, but she heard him.

Videl thought for a moment, looking at her friend. She honestly didn't want to go either—especially after staying up all night. There's no way she wouldn't fall asleep.

"You know what, Gohan?" She suddenly asked with a large dose of pride. "Let's just go. School'll be here tomorrow."

Hearing those words made Gohan perk right up. That may have been the greatest idea ever.

"Really?" he asked, almost sure it was too good to be true.

Videl placed her hands on her hips. "Hell yes! We don't need school—not today." She grabbed his hand and began trotting to the doors of the student parking lot. "I'll just get my butler to write us notes, because today, we're sick." She winked at him.

The saiyan boy's smile grew and grew. Today wouldn't be so bad after all. If he was lucky, it would beat yesterday! He jubilantly held her hand and let her lead him outside.

As they walked to her Jeep, Gohan looked at her. She was a very pretty girl. He thought so. And so sweet to him when he had done nothing. Though it had only been a day, he felt confident enough to say that she was the best thing to ever happen to him. He didn't have the urge to cut himself—not so much anymore. Maybe this friendship would change him. He could only hope.

"Hey." He said, still trailing behind her. She stopped and turned to him, all ears. "You look nice today… Kinda reminds me of Joan Jett." It was very true. Her hair was a little extra poofy and looked really cool, especially with her outfit.

Videl's sapphire-blue eyes widened, enchanted by the comment. She couldn't help herself, and tackled Gohan's chest in a tight hug (and yes, she could now tell for sure, he was absolutely _ripped_). "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." She stated giddily, the words muffled from his shirt.

He wasn't so startled this time. In fact, he tightly hugged her back.

Yep. Definitely beats yesterday.


	9. Friday, I'm in Love

**No Way Back Chapter IX: Friday, I'm in Love**

Gohan laid on his bed, arms outstretched, behind his head. He was totally relaxed—and totally happy. The only sad thing that plagued him was the time. Midnight. Time to sleep. But even that couldn't ruin his amazing mood.

His day could not have been greater—or more fun. After bumping into Videl in school, things just looked up for the entirety of the day. He successfully got away with foiling the bank robbery, skipped school, and spent at least fourteen hours with his best friend—which was definitely the best part of all.

Together, the two teens ventured into town and had a blast. They stopped in a music store, messed around with some instruments, perused the cd's and even dug around in some piles of vinyl. After that, they chilled in a small diner for lunch, which Videl graciously paid for. He actually ate a full meal and didn't feel weird about it. Even now, he still didn't regret it or purge it up.

They also went to the movie theater for the new horror flick that was out, _Quarantine_, and deemed it a good movie. But nothing topped the hours of walking and hanging around playgrounds, just talking. He had to admit, he missed talking. Well, talking to someone who was worth talking to—and listened. And Videl was just that person. She got him to talk about anything and everything under the sun. His likes, his dislikes, his past, his family… He told her all about it—only with the 'human edit'.

He frowned. Now that was one thing that truly bothered him. He knew he could never tell Videl the full truth about him and his life. Not that he was half saiyan, had super powers, saved the world… none of that. If this friendship was going to work, he needed to be as human as possible—not a _total_ freak. Just a Gothic one.

He sighed aloud, slightly worried that his secrets might ever be spilled. But, thanks to Videl, he didn't let the thoughts weigh him down. He had too much of a good thing with her, and he wasn't going to let his mind get in the way. He was _happy_. Genuinely _happy_. And he wanted to stay that way. He wanted tomorrow to be here already. He wanted to see her again.

He didn't even care that he had to go to school tomorrow. So long as Videl was there, he knew he would be ok.

With another sigh, this time a pleasant one, Gohan closed his chocolate eyes and fell asleep. No nightmares tonight.

* * *

With his big, black boots, Gohan Son sashayed in through the glass doors of the high school. As usual, there were looks, glares, laughs, and pointed fingers, but he did something he never could before: He ignored them all. And boy did it feel good.

He stopped at his locker, fiddled with the combination, and opened the metal door to find writing all over the inside.

_Fucker_

_Devil Worshipper_

_Faggot_

_Loser_

He glanced at them, not surprised those douches broke into his locker again. But instead of wallowing, he made himself smirk, which felt so weird—he just had to laugh. And laugh he did.

The people around him looked at him. They probably wondered if he was high, or if he had finally just lost it. But he didn't stop, not for awhile. It just felt too damn good.

He didn't care. He just… didn't. Why should he anyway? He had a best friend to talk to and appreciate him. In fact, she would probably be laughing right along with him right now.

Settling down and anxious to get to class and see Videl, Gohan grabbed the books he needed for the next few classes and shut the locker door. Before he could even turn around, his counterpart ran up to him.

"Gohan, Gohan! Oh my gosh! Have you heard yet?" Videl shrieked, in all of her metalhead glory. She could not stand still for the life of her and fidgeted like a toddler, unable to contain her excitement.

The Goth boy looked down at her, amused by her joy. "Heard what?"

The girl's smile grew tenfold. "Yesterday, when we missed music class, Mrs. Sadey announced what our project would be!" She oozed.

"What is it?" Gohan asked. If she was this ecstatic, then it must be pretty good.

She almost squealed. "Everyone has to get into groups and make a band for a particular genre of music!"

"Can I be with you?" He asked meekly. It's not like he'd want to group with anyone else, especially since the project sounded pretty cool.

"Well that's the thing—you already are!" She laughed, still euphoric. "Once I heard, I went and talked to Mrs. Sadey since we missed class. She put us down as the heavy metal band, since that wasn't taken yet! Isn't it awesome? This is going to be so KILLER!" She shouted, almost jumping up and down.

He had to admit, that sounded like the coolest music project ever known to man. He smiled wide, rivaling her own big grin.

"You said you play guitar, right?" She inquired, way too eager.

The Goth nodded. "Yes.

"Perfect! And I'll handle the drums!" She gave him a thumbs up. "Our final project is to perform a song live in front of the whole school on the last day! This is going to kick so much ass!"

Gohan's smile collapsed. _Oh god. _"The whole school? …Videl, I don't know…" She wanted him to play his best in front everyone that he hated and be booed off the stage? There was no way.

Sensing, his sudden shock and apprehension, Videl stepped closer and grabbed his hands. "Hey," she piped up, "everything's going to be fine. I think we're going last too, which is great."

The tall saiyan lowered his head and shook it. _Anything but this. Please._

"Gohan. Look at me." She said in a softer tone.

He did.

"On the last day of school, you will have nothing to lose and nothing to worry about. It's gonna be the last few minutes of your _entire _four years of high school." She cooed to him gently, looking intensely into his eyes. "No one's going boo or throw stuff. No one's going to say anything, because no one matters. It's just going to be you and your guitar up there, shredding to the gods."

Gohan gazed at her, letting her words swirl around his head. She seemed so sincere… He couldn't say no. And she was right—why should he care?

Letting a deep breath out, he stood up straight. "Alright." He said, pushing all fear from his mind. "I'll do it."

Feeling triumphant, Videl leapt in for another hug. She really liked Gohan hugs, and took advantage of them often. He was always so warm, yet rock solid with muscles, like a Gothic Adonis. "You won't regret this, Gohan. I promise." She vowed, letting him go. "It'll be the perfect moment to give this school a big 'Fuck You!' before you leave forever!"

His dark eyes lit up. She was right. What a perfect way to end high school and stick it to every person who's wronged him. Every prank, insult, glare, sneer, and laugh would be shoved right back into their faces.

"Yeah." He said with actual enthusiasm. "Yeah. You're right. Let's do this."

Pride. He thought his pride was long gone—lost. But suddenly, he felt it again. And it felt amazing. He could do this. He _would _do this. And be **proud** of it.

Just thinking about it arose feelings of excitement from his dull, melancholic state of mind. He was _actually _excited for something! He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this positive brand of anxiety. And it was all thanks to the girl in front of him.

Her upbeat disposition only magnified. "Awesome. We're going to knock these assholes dead!" She exuded. "Now." Her smile quickly morphed into a poker face. "We have a while to work on this assignment… So for the time being, we need to focus on a band name and pick a song to perform. Okay?"

Her determination impressed him. You'd think the newbie of less than a week would be more timid and unsure of things. Not Videl. Even in this new environment, she wasn't afraid to take charge and make decisions. Her will was so strong, which definitely reflected in her outward appearance, as well as actions. No one would ever get the best of her. Of that, Gohan was sure. She was confident, diligent, and defiant—but not an arrogant bastard like Vegeta. No, she was thoughtful and compassionate like no one he had ever met before, and he admired her personality more than anyone else on earth. So naturally, he obeyed.

He nodded his head. "You got it, Chief." He replied quietly.

Videl laughed aloud at her new nickname. She liked it. It fit: She wouldn't deny her bossiness for a second.

"Come on," she beckoned, "let's not be late again." And the two walked off to class.

* * *

Towards the end of lunch, Videl managed to sneak away from her popular "friends" when she lied about going to the bathroom so she could find Gohan. Her holey jeans were a few inches too long and drug against grass and she meandered outside. _Bingo! _She thought. He was just where she thought he would be, under the big oak tree with his sketchbook.

"Hey you." She greeted, standing over him, but careful not to block his sunlight.

"I thought you'd never come." He said, but not coldly or with bitter intent. He looked up at her for a quick moment, smiled shyly from underneath the black forest of his bangs, and returned to his drawing. Another masterpiece, of course.

"Tell me about it." She whined, plopping down next to him. "I had to resort to feigning the urge to pee just to ditch them! Gah. I hate soulless people." She crossed her arms, letting her eyes fall over his sketchwork. This time, it was guitar—a Jackson Rhoads flying V by the looks of it.

Videl sighed. "Man, Gohan. Where did you ever learn to draw like that?" She asked, in awe of his skill.

His black hooded shoulders shrugged as he continued stroke after stroke of his pencil on the page. "I never learned." He said plainly. "I just… drew." His concentration never faltered for a second.

She chuckled to herself. "That's what all great artists say." She brought her knees up to her stomach and hugged them, letting her head rest on top. "I guess that means you're a great artist." Only she didn't guess. She knew.

She could see Gohan smile behind that thick, unruly hair.

Right when she was going to speak up again—the bell rang. Time for gym. Which reminded her—

"Gohan wait!" She said out loud as he stood up.

He looked down at her and offered her his hand, which she gladly took.

"I forgot to ask you yesterday—why don't you go to gym? Your last name is an 'S', so I know you're supposed to be in my class."

His eyes widened. He'd forgotten all about that and he needed a good excuse for her. "Uhh…" _Well, you see, I have unrivaled strength and agility because my dad's an alien. I just don't want to stand out, you know? _"I'm just… really bad at sports. Especially in front of people." He said. She seemed to be buying it. "…And you know how I am with that…" he looked away, for an added effect.

"I understand." She replied sympathetically. "But I'll miss ya. Those jocks just aren't as fun." She smiled, nudging his arm.

Gohan breathed a laugh, happy she felt that way, happier she bought his excuse.

They began walking towards the doors back into the building, both of their boots squashing the grass beneath them.

Before they parted ways, she turned to look up at him. "Where exactly do you go for the whole period if you're not in class?" She asked. It was a valid question, and finally one that he didn't mind answering.

"The roof."

She wasn't surprised, yet smiled, imagining Gohan sitting up there and drawing his heart out while listening to his ipod. It sounded perfect. Not too out of reach, yet completely isolated. Introverts ahoy.

They went their separate ways before the bell rang, anxious for last period to come.

As Gohan laid out, alone on the rooftop, engulfed in sunshine, he hoped one day Videl would skip gym and sit up here with him. Or maybe, ideally, they could just skip all seven classes and reside on the roof, away from everyone. Maybe one day.

* * *

Music class was always a joy, and as usual, flew by too quickly. One minute Mrs. Sadey's discussing the guidelines for the band project, and the next—the bell rings. It was always too soon.

Gathering up their books and bags, the two dark haired teens filed out of the door and out of the school. When they reached her Jeep, it dawned on Videl: Today was Friday.

"Gohan!" She suddenly blurted out. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

He shook his head 'no' quickly, delighted that she would ask that. He hated weekends about as much as weekdays. Granted, there wasn't any school, but his home life wasn't exactly paradise. And that's what a weekend with Videl sounded like in comparison to anything else: Paradise.

She again grew excited. "Wanna hang out?"

"I'd love to." He said in his smooth baritone voice. He absolutely meant it.

"Sweet. Let's shoot for around… eleven or so. That way we can go out for lunch or something." She declared, already looking forward to the occasion. "Do you need a ride? I could—"

"No need." He shook his head and held up a fingerless glove-clad hand. "I'll be there. At eleven."

"Ok." She beamed, exuberant. "But as for right now… I say we go see _Quarantine _again!"

So they did.


	10. Behind Blue Eyes

**No Way Back Chapter X: Behind Blue Eyes**

Saturday morning came later than expected for Gohan. To his surprise, he actually slept in late til about ten o'clock. Usually his inner alarm clock forced his eyes to open bright and early around the dawn. And more often than not, he was _glad _to awaken so early. It put a temporary end to the nightmares and memories he tried so hard to suppress.

_However_, over the last few days, the nightmares seemed to have subsided, replaced by a more pleasant state of dreamless sleep. He wasn't restless or uneasy in the slightest, didn't toss and turn all night, and didn't have that god awful empty feeling when he woke up.

And now, he couldn't wait to spend all day with the only person that truly gave a damn about him.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Gohan tossed the thick blanket off of his body and stood up. The hardwood floor was cold beneath his bare feet as he walked to the bathroom, clad in only his black boxers.

After a quick shower, the saiyan teen began to towel himself off. The heat from the water and steam made the multitude of scars on his bare wrists swell and illuminate bright shades of pink and red—old and new scars alike. They caught his eye, causing him to drop his towel. Against his pale, white flesh, his wrists looked to be on fire—the contrast was devastating.

Videl couldn't see this. What would she think? What kind of loser actually inflicts wounds to _themselves_? One without a spine or self esteem. Him.

_No! _He violently shook his head in defiance. She _wouldn't _find out about his cutting. It wasn't masculine and he was so ashamed of himself for it. But no one had to know. He refused to let ruin come to this good thing—the _only_ good thing in his life right now.

After a moment, his skin cooled down and the scars lost their color. They were still a bit too noticeable for his liking, but at least not completely neon. In the back of his mind, he hoped one day he wouldn't be forced to wear gloves or a plethora of bracelets and gauntlets. As much as he liked the garments, they could be tiresome day in and day out. He longed to be completely bare for once. He wanted to be free of the things that bound him: The scars, mentally and physically.

It was a dream, nonetheless. Were it ever to be realized, the day was far off. For now, he would have to recluse to the safety of his clothes and accessories. At least they gave him a sense of security.

He sighed, returning to his room, wrapped in a towel. When he reached his door, it dawned on him that he didn't lock it—he'd completely forgotten! _Shit!_

The door swung open with a frustrated smack of his hand. To his horror and dismay, his brother was sprawled out on his bed, flipping through a bulk of his old sketchbooks. The little boy jumped off of the bed in panic when the door opened forcefully. He was caught red handed.

A massive fury boiled under Gohan's skin. His privacy was violated. _His _room. _His _bed. _His _belongings. And worse yet—_his _artwork. He clenched his fists, unbelievably angry.

"Get out." He said slowly and quite loud, the words full of venom. The voice sounded more like a monster and not his own, even as he tried to restrain his raw emotion.

Goten's eyes were wide with terror, like a deer in the headlights. Never before had he seen his big brother so furious that he almost shook—and the anger was directed at _him_.

The little boy's teeth chattered and he couldn't bring himself to move. His eyes began to well up. "I-I-I didn't mean t-to!" He blubbered as fast as his mouth could. "I d-didn't hurt anything! I-I just wanted to s-s-see your drawings! P-please d-don't be mad! I'm s-s-sorry!" He wailed, shivering.

"Goten." Gohan breathed out harshly, seeing red. "Get **OUT!**"

The yell struck the little saiyan to the core. He whimpered and ran out of the room as fast as his legs could take him.

Taking a deep breath in attempts to calm himself, he shut the door, locking it tight this time, and gathered the pile of sketchbooks on his bed into a neat stack. He set the books back into their spot and sat down on his bed, grasping his forehead with his hand.

He really wished that didn't just happen. The last thing he ever wanted was his personal things to be looked through and handled. He also didn't like to be so cross with Goten. The little fella was so innocent and good… He shouldn't have yelled at him. _He must think I'm such a monster._

Maybe he should feel flattered that the kid wanted to look at his artwork so much. But on the other hand, his art was for _him _and _him _only. The only other person he would let see his stuff was—

_Videl! Shit—what time is it?_

The clock read five til eleven. If he didn't hurry the hell up, he would be late!

With lightning speed, he threw on his newer black Tripps, a random t-shirt, and a black Iron Maiden pullover hoodie. To hide his wrists, he slipped on plain black finglerless gloves that almost reached the elbow, and snapped studded gauntlets on top for extra security. With that taken care of, he was good to go.

Before finally leaving, he checked his look in the mirror to make sure nothing was awry.

He grimaced at the site. His hair… Had it really gotten that out of control? The catastrophe of black hair on his head looked like an explosion of awkward spikes and mounds, the rest of it falling over his face. It was also getting way too long—it nearly reached his abdomen!

He didn't dare cut it himself. He was no beautician… which is something he learned the hard way a while back.

_Geez. I look like a homeless person... _Not brushing his hair for several weeks probably didn't help either.

He wondered, as he grabbed his wallet and slid into his shoes, if Videl would do him a favor…

* * *

"You mean you want me to give you a haircut?" The petite girl asked. The two teens had been lounging on her big bed when he suddenly made the request out of nowhere.

"Would you?" He sat up, gazing at her. He really dreaded the thought of going to a hair salon.

She jumped off of the bed and landed on her feet, twirling around to face her Gothic counterpart. "Of course I would! I'm just surprised that you would ask _me_!" She smiled.

He laughed out loud, looking up at Videl's lucid blue eyes. "…It's not like I trust anyone else."

Her smile grew. Under his shy mannerisms, Gohan was such a sweet guy. Such a gentleman, she thought.

"Well, it just so happens that you, sir, are in luck, because I am very good at cutting hair." She waltzed over to her desk and opened a drawer, retrieving a pair of intricate scissors. "Back home, I used to do all my friends' hair—styling it and whatnot. And the ones that let me cut their hair always seemed to approve." She walked back over to the lanky boy, still sitting on her bed. "Let's hope you do too." Her eyes began to intricately study his head of hair. "Now, you just want a trim, right?" She asked.

The Gothic teen nodded. "I like it long, but this is way _too _long. It kinda gets in the way…" He said, almost feeling a tinge of embarrassment over the state of his wild locks. "Just… tame it… if you can."

Videl smirked. "Oh don't worry, I will." She brought a hand up to run through her friend's hair. The run was short lived as knots clogged a smooth passage for her fingers. "Do you ever brush your hair?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"…It's been awhile." He muttered, somewhat shrugging. "Whenever I used to, it was so hard and hurt a lot, so I stopped." It was true. Some of his worst memories as a kid were of his mom forcefully brushing his hair.

"In that case," the scissor-armed girl began, "you should use conditioner when you shower. It makes your hair a lot smoother so you can brush it. I can give you some."

"Thanks…" He replied quietly. He trusted her judgment, so he would definitely take her word for it.

"Alright," Videl began, pulling the chair out from under her desk, "you can sit right here. And you'll probably want to take off your hoodie so it doesn't get all covered with hair."

The request came as a shock at first. To him, taking off his hoodie was like letting his guard down. But in a matter of seconds, he managed to reason with himself. She only just made a suggestion—and she was right. He definitely didn't want his hair all over him. That sounded like a bigger pain in the ass than it was worth. So, without revealing his insecurities to Videl, the saiyan boy began fishing through his sweatshirt, pulling the garment over his head.

As he lifted the garment up, his shirt also pulled up a little, giving Videl a momentary peak at his chiseled abdomen. She looked away quickly, fighting a blush, as Gohan pulled the t-shirt back down.

_How in the world can he be so ripped? Hot damn._

Now hoodieless, Gohan sat down in the chair, resting his arms on the armrests. He glanced up curiously at his comrade, who just stood and looked at him. It wasn't a scrutinizing sort of look, but almost that of awe. To say the least, he didn't know how to respond. But the situation got even _more _awkward when she smiled and shook her head, letting a chuckle slip out.

His eyes widened. Was she laughing at him? But he didn't do anything! "W—what?" He sputtered quietly.

"You." She blurted out. "I just don't get you, Gohan."

Dread suddenly overwhelmed him. This could not be happening—he needed her! "—What did I do?" He squeaked out in panic.

Her smile grew and grew. "Just _you_." She giggled. "Look at you! Token Goth guy of this school—or _city_, I should say, and you're buffer than any jock or athlete I know!" She eyed his broad shoulders and filled muscles. "Gothic people are usually skinny and frail—well, as far as _I_ know. I guess that's just the stereotype." She shrugged, walking a bit closer to him.

Relief. She didn't hate him. _Phew._

He cocked his head to the side. "…I guess I'm just different." He muttered. "…Even from _different _people."

"And that's exactly what I love about you!" Videl declared in a proud tone. "You're not like anyone I know."

For a moment, they smiled at eachother—and it felt amazing. Neither of them had had a friend like this before. And though their friendship barely even touched a week, the connection was unlike anything else. Always on the same page, into the exact same things… nothing compared to this.

"So tell me, oh Gothic Adonis, how on earth did you get so beefed?" She asked as she grabbed an old sheet from a linen closet. She lifted Gohan's hair and wrapped the large cloth around his neck so that it covered his body, like a professional hair stylist.

He knew he definitely had to fib, but he really didn't want to stray too far from the truth. So in the end, he settled with "I, uh… used to practice martial arts with my father." He said as she began to snip at his hair. Coal-black locks began to litter the floor.

The mention of his father struck a note in Videl. She recalled overhearing Gohan's mother in the dressing room the other day. The woman had spoken of his father—Son Goku—the famous martial artist. It was just too coincidental. She needed to know if it was true or not.

"Gohan," she began, still hacking through his voluminous hair, "I need to confess something."

He thought it odd to hear guilt in her voice. "What is it?" He asked, knowing there was nothing she could say to make him not like her. Whatever secret it was, he would like her all the same.

She spoke hesitantly. "I was shopping a few days ago, before we met up, and in the fitting room, I overheard this lady—your mom, I think." She relayed quickly, out of nerves. "I mean—I wasn't eavesdropping—I swear! She was just talking kind of loud to her friend—but I don't mean loud like a _loudmouth_—just—loud enough so I could hear her—even though I was_ NOT _eavesdropping—I guess she was just excited so she was kind of yelling—oh geez—I sound like such a jerk—"

"No, it's ok—she _is _really loud…" He said to calm her while simultaneously trying to calm himself. With the way her story was going, he knew he was skating on thin ice right now. Things had the potential to get incredibly worse in a matter of seconds.

She sighed, relieved, still snipping away. "Ok, if you say so." She muttered, shaking off the embarrassment. "Right, so… uh. If you don't mind my asking… is your father _Son Goku_?" She watched as his body stiffened at the name. "That's what it sounded like your mom was saying, but I couldn't tell for sure. Is it true?"

What was the point of lying about this one? The evidence was there, between his mother's blabbing habits, their last name, and the fact that he closely resembled his father. Shit. Things were drifting further and further into no-man's land.

"…Yeah." He said sheepishly, nodding. He hated to admit it. He hated feeling exposed. And he fucking hated his father.

So it _was _true! Gohan just kept getting more and more interesting.

"Wow…" She said as she marveled at the knowledge just gained. "Your _dad_—a world famous fighter… That's crazy! Wow." It was kind of weird that Gohan never spoke of him before… or any of his family. Or home life. Come to think of it, he never spoke of anything personal.

The male teen just sat there in the chair, staring at the carpeted floor, feeling conflicted between his fear over the current conversation and the hatred he felt toward his father.

"Gohan… where _is _your father?" She prompted gently, becoming aware of how sensitive the topic was.

He stiffed again, shoulder's clenched. "…Please don't call him that…" He whispered, holding back as much venom as he could.

"Sorry—" She said, sincerely. "_Goku_, I mean." She didn't have to be a psychiatrist to sense his disdain for his father. Now she wondered why. What could have happened to sever their relationship? Son Goku sounded like an awesome guy and one hell of a warrior. You'd think it would kick ass to be his kid!

Gohan exhaled heavily, barely audible. "He's dead." He said, coldly and matter-of-factly.

"Dead?" She asked, shocked. She nearly dropped the scissors. "But your mom said he would be at the tournament on Monday! What the—how in the world—?"

_Shit! This just keeps getting worse!_

The saiyan teen shuffled his hands, trying to conjure up some sort of excuse. She was right. To normal human beings, death was forever. Keeping that notion was for the best.

Now, somewhat relaxed, he let out a slow, defeated sigh. "…Goku left my family seven years ago." He said in a monotone. "It's honestly just easier to say he's dead."

Although he wasn't facing her, Gohan could tell she nodded. _Good. She bought it_.

"Seven years… that's such a long time…" She said to herself, out loud, clipping through a difficult strand of thick hair. "But at least you'll get to see him again! Right?"

_No. _He shook his head very slowly, picturing the goofy smile, jubilant voice, and warrior's attire in his mind. "…When I said he _left _my family, I should have said _abandoned_…" Without looking, he could sense his female counterpart mouthing an 'Oh'. Hopefully now she would understand where he was coming from. "…My mother and brother are dying to see him… It's like they've forgotten how he just up and left us. All the hell we went through…" He trailed off, disgusted. "…I'm not going to the Budokai Tenkaichi. I don't even want to see him. If that bastard thinks he can just show up for a day and receive an open-armed welcome…" He growled, beside himself. He wasn't even there now, sitting in a chair, having his hair groomed.

What pulled him back into reality was a pair of arms, circling around his neck, and then a small head resting on his one shoulder. "Oh Gohan… I'm so sorry… I had no idea…" She gushed softly as she held him from behind.

The touch was sweet. She cared—she really, truly cared for him! And here and now, she was trying to comfort him. Astounding. She must really, sincerely have concern for his feelings—in a way no other person had before.

"It's ok…" He said, savoring the feeling of her hug. Touch was once a foreign thing to him, but was now something he loved. It felt… wonderful.

"Well…" She began to speak, releasing him and resuming her barrage of cuts and snips. "If you're not going to the tournament, do you wanna hang out with me? I'm not going either, and I'll bet the streets surrounding the stadium will be packed full of vendors and stuff. We could just putz around all day!"

Gohan's chocolate-brown eyes lit up at the offer. It sounded greater than great, quite honestly. "I would love that." He admitted, excitement evident in his voice.

"Awesome!" She exclaimed, extremely excited herself. "It'll be great! No stupid fight, no stupid dicks from school, and no stupid your dad. Just you, me, and a plethora of awesome!"

The confidence that reigned her voice echoed in his head. He loved it. He loved how sure she was about everything; He couldn't help but believe her. And so far, her epic prophecies hadn't let him down.

He sat, so lost in his smile that he didn't even notice his blue-eyed friend put the scissors down.

"You, my friend, are finito!" She declared, taking a step back from where he sat. "And you look quite ravishing, if I do say so myself." A smug smile was stuck on her face.

Delighted, Gohan stood up, detaching the sheet from his cuff and placing it to the side. Anxious and happy, he walked over to her vanity mirror to see the result.

It took a moment to realize that the man in the mirror was him, but boy, it sure was. In short, he loved it. His hair was still long, reaching just to his shoulder blades in the back, and riddled with spikes and waves that weren't weighed down and matted, but freshly cut and free. She'd given him a great deal of layers, some of which framed his cheekbones and fell over his forehead, just barely covering his eyes—but in no way shrouding his whole face like it used to. Overall, it just _felt _better too. Much lighter. And it kind of gave him a different look—less Goth and more metal, and very masculine.

_Damn_. He thought, letting another smile overcome his pouty lips. It was better than he ever could have hoped for—and one hell of a much needed confidence boost!

"You're an artist, Videl." He said, meaning every word. "I love it."

He looked at her and met her gaze as he walked towards her. Never faltering, he took her shoulders in his hands and peered down at her petite frame. Her brilliant blue eyes sparkled.

"Thank you." He said as he gently embraced her.

Videl was speechless and remained that way for a good while. She couldn't believe he was actually hugging _her_! The act made her heart melt. No one's hugs had that effect on her.

Slowly but surely, she was beginning to understand: She was beginning to see—to realize what was happening:

She was falling in love with him.

* * *

**Holy crap guys! This is actually my longest chapter yet O.o It outweighs some of my earlier chapters by 1,000 words! Jesus Christ!**

**Well I hope you like all the drama in this one. And sorry if it seems like their relationship is moving too fast. I just wanna get this show on the road! Haha.**

**Up next: The tournament & Goku! **_**DUN DUN DUN~**_

**-VictimOfChanges**


	11. Antisocial

**No Way Back Chapter XI: Antisocial**

Monday morning found the Z warriors with uncontainable excitement. The majority of them carpooled with the Briefs into the city, and before long, they had become a mob in front of the stadium, anxiously awaiting their long lost warrior: Son Goku.

Chichi nearly shook in her hot, red dress; she was so nerve-wrought. She clung to Bulma's arm for support, unable to restrain her flooding, gushing emotions. "Ohhhh my god! Oh my GOD! I can't believe it's really _today_! What if he doesn't recognize me—Oh Bulma! What if he doesn't show! Oh Goku!"

"Chichi! Get ahold of yourself!" Her blue-haired friend scolded, trying to keep Chichi in line. "Give him more credit than that! He'll show up."

Bulma scanned their large group: Yamcha, Tien, Chiaozu, Piccolo, Puar, Oolong, Master Roshi, Vegeta, Trunks, Krillin, 18, Marron, Ox King, Chichi, Goten…

"Where's Gohan?" She asked her friend. The wayward teen was nowhere to be found.

Chichi's face fell and she shrugged. "He was gone this morning. I don't know where he is…" She sulked, feeling helpless and melancholy over her son. "I don't know why he doesn't want to see his father… I don't understand it." She shook her head, welling up and clinging tightly to Bulma. "When he was younger, all he wanted was for his father to come home! And now… It's like he hates him! It's like he hates all of us!" She wailed, trying to keep her tears at bay for the sake of her makeup.

"Oh that's absurd!" Bulma said, squeezing her wreck-of-a-friend's arm. "He doesn't hate Goku, or you, or anyone. It's just a bad phase—he's a teenager, Chichi. Tons of adolescents go through it. They act like they resent their parents and want to push everyone away. It's normal." She soothed, thinking back to her _own _teenagedhood. "When I was his age, I rebelled in any way possible—and I constantly was going off on my own. Actually," she winked, "that's how I met Goku—on one of my adventures!" She laughed.

The shorter, middle aged woman smiled. She hoped Bulma was right. Gohan would come around eventually. But for now, she needed to focus on reuniting with her husband. She was completely oblivious to the festivities surrounding her—right now, they weren't important. The love of her life is what she set her sights on, and she would wait there for days if she had to. She needed her Goku.

* * *

Two darkly dressed, boot-clad teenagers meandered through the hubbub on the streets, just outside of the stadium. Videl's prophecy had been spot on: every block was full of random vendors and tables. Most stations were selling Budokai Tenchaichi merchandise—t-shirts, flags, posters, etc, but a good number of them also carried some unrelated junk: Books, jewelry, graphic t-shirts, clothes—even some band and brand paraphernalia both teens liked.

Gohan, today donning black jeans, a black Depeche Mode shirt, and a plain zip-up hoodie, walked with a modest smile and a confident swagger. This day was seriously kicking some ass. Not to mention he just felt so genuinely good. He wouldn't have to deal with the stupid tournament, his family, family-friends, or his worthless bastard-of-a-dad. No way. Today was just him and Videl, cruising the smorgasbord of sale tables lining the streets.

He glanced down at his female friend. She walked with great excitement over the atmosphere, incredibly cute in her RUSH hoodie, studded belt, and holey jeans that cut off right at her big boots. They both created a distinct contrast from the crowd of people all over, no doubt earning some odd looks and comments. Gohan didn't even care—something he'd been doing a lot lately. He was proud to stand out with Videl; proud to break the monotony.

Suddenly, the raven-haired girl froze with a gasp. "Look! A piercing joint!" She squealed, pointing to a booth, a few feet ahead. "Let's go! I want to get my industrial done!" She grabbed her Gothic friend's hand as she made a mad dash for the small, tented booth. Gohan, of course, was happy to tag along.

"Which one should I get?" Videl asked herself aloud as she spun through the display of industrial bars. She quickly made her decision when her eyes fell upon a thin silver bar with a Celtic cross on each outer ball.

As she handed the cashier a few bills, she turned back to her tall and handsome Goth. "You want one?" She smiled.

Gohan took a moment to think about it. He had a few piercings already: One his left ear and three in his right ear, all very tiny silver hoops that weren't overtly noticeable. One more wouldn't hurt.

"What the hell?" He muttered, returning her smile. "Why not?"

* * *

"Are you hungry? Maybe we should find some food next."

Gohan nodded, ignoring the small ache in his ear from his new metal. He ultimately went with another tiny silver hoop on the cartilage of his left ear. "That sounds good." He said, actually quite hungry. For so long, he had suppressed the urge to eat and got away with only crumbs a day. But the past week of being with Videl was changing him. He ate entire meals with her—even going for seconds—and felt no remorse whatsoever. And now that his body was adapting to _actually_ eating again, his saiyan stomach absolutely wanted more.

"Alright! Let's see." She crossed her arms and began scouting out possible food sources. "There's a diner just around that corner, and a hotdog stand over there, McDonalds is down the street, but I don't really like that crap, uhh, or we could get burgers from that one place…"

Her voice and all other surrounding noise seemed to just disappear when the dark young man suddenly laid eyes on a certain crowd of people. It was his mother and the whole gang, mobbed together. He had hoped maybe he could avoid them the whole day—and he would, but just seeing them was a downer. At least they wouldn't see him or sense him from here, since they were several hundred feet away. Most of them didn't possess his keen saiyan sight anyway. But before he could shake his head and return to reality, he froze, stuck in the silent world of his mind. His eyes had fallen onto a man dressed in orange with wild black hair.

_Goku_.

He couldn't break his stare and just watched the interaction. The cluster of Z warriors flocked to the long lost saiyan with a barrage of hugs and tears, like some cliché Kodak moment. His mother threw herself at the man, obviously wailing her head off. Even Goten, who had never met the guy, seemed teary-eyed as he hugged his father for the first time in his life. Friends gave him high fives and slaps on the back, and even Vegeta looked amused. The whole charade was nauseating.

When the group's excitement calmed down a bit and a few actually departed for the stadium, Gohan watched his father's eyes intently scan the crowd around him, searching for something. He then turned back to his wife with a confused face. The teen's eyes widened as he read Goku's lips:

"Where's Gohan?"

That did it. Gohan jolted back into reality—to the noise and hoopla of the streets. He looked down at Videl, who still rambled on, listing possible eating choices.

"We need to go—now." He said quickly, laying a hand on her shoulder.

She still pointed out restaurants and food vendors for them to try, not turning to face him. "Okay—then help me decide where to eat. There's so many—"

"**No.**" He said, this time with unmistakable urgency. "I need to get out of here—**now**."

Definitely hearing the panic in his tone, Videl flipped around to look in his eyes, and boy did he look rattled.

_He was fine a second ago—! What in the world—_

She intently read the grief and dread in his eyes. "You saw Goku, didn't you?"

With a boiling anger underlying his features, he gave a solemn nod.

The seemingly drastic change from content and happy to utterly disturbed really shocked Videl. Her opinion of Son Goku was getting worse and worse by the second.

_He _really _must be an asshole to hurt Gohan so much…_

"Where should we go?" She asked.

"Far." He answered immediately. "Just—anywhere. Not here."

She wasn't about to argue. In her mind, she thought of good potential places to hide out—anywhere to ease her friend's pain. And suddenly an idea hit her.

"I've got it!" She lit up, grabbing Gohan's glove-clad hand. "Follow me."

* * *

The saiyan teenager had to hand it to her: She knew how to pick a hideaway.

"Isn't this great?" The petite girl gushed, spinning around, taking in the full view of their locale. They had snuck into the city's most prestigious office building, taken an elevator, and climbed a few flights of stairs to arrive secretly on the roof. Not only that, but the building just happened to be one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city. "We're completely out of sight here! Not to mention we have a bird's eye view of the tournament ring."

Gohan cocked his head. "I thought you didn't care about the fights?"

She shrugged. "I do and I don't. The whole thing is stupid, but I'm always in the mood for a good laugh. Most of the 'fighters' that sign up for these things are god awful. Haha." She smiled at him.

He smiled back. She had a point. It would probably be a lot of fun seeing all those asswipes fall on their face. And this was just the perfect place to watch. He sighed; relieved they were finally away from civilization.

Content again, he brought himself to sit on the roof's ledge next to his friend, his long legs dangling over the sides.

Yeah, finally. Alone and happy. Nothing could ruin that now.

* * *

As the warriors all headed for the preliminary signup line, Goku walked next to Krillin, enjoying the chance to finally reconnect with his best friend—just like old times.

Krillin yammered on and on about all the things his comrade had missed over the past seven years, earning several goofy laughs from the saiyan. Though, as Krillin continued to ramble, Goku's mind wandered back to his initial arrival. Yeah, it was great… but where on earth was Gohan? Where was his number one son?

Chichi didn't look him in the eye when he asked the question the first time. She looked to the ground and muttered something about the boy not feeling well. That didn't really sound like Gohan—he never got sick. And even if he was, he would surely make the trek to see his father after so long!

For now, the saiyan shrugged it off, or at least he tried to. No matter how intently he listened to Krillin's words, Gohan's absence kept gnawing at his conscious. He wished his son were there, and longed to fight beside him again—which is something he dearly missed while in otherworld. But maybe he _really_ was under the weather.

_Poor fella_. He thought, imagining his oldest son, sick in his bed. But when he did, he kept imagining Gohan as the eleven year old boy he'd left so long ago. He just couldn't conjure up an accurate image of his boy—who was nearly a man. Seventeen. Eighteen in a little over a month. He couldn't believe how fast time flew. All the while, he never forgot about his family. He counted every birthday and special occasion, always wishing he were there to help celebrate.

Now he frowned. He really needed to see Gohan—especially since he'd already gotten to see Goten! He knew Chichi was pregnant before he left, but never got to see his younger son until today. And now that he had finally gotten to know his second child—his firstborn wasn't there and their family wasn't together. It just felt… wrong.

Before he let himself feel even more down, an idea hit him.

_Of course! I'll just pop back home and see him while we wait in line. Then I'll go see him again after the tournament._

"Hey!" He hollered to his pals, waving. "Save my spot! I'm going home to see Gohan really quick!" And in a flash, he placed two fingers at his forehead and vanished.

Krillin gulped in cue with the others' sighs. He shook his head. "Well I hope he wasn't expecting a warm welcome…"

* * *

In a fraction of a second, Goku was on his old doorstep. He wasn't surprised to see that nothing had changed. Everything about the house was the same.

When he entered, he was met with the same likeness, only a few new toys and kitchenware lying about. He looked around the room and marveled. How he missed this place. _His _home. The house he'd built with his own two hands.

Chuckling, he ascended the stairway towards the bedrooms. Three of the doors were open: The master bedroom looked the same and he fondly remembered sleeping there, as well as… He blushed, moving onto the next open door. What used to be the guest bedroom was now obviously Goten's room, which was full of toys and a small bed. The next room was the bathroom, which had actually changed quite a bit. There was a shower built into the wall, which meant flowing water. _Guess they got sick of outdoor baths over the fire. _He laughed to himself.

He then came to the last door, which was closed. _That must be Gohan's room. _

Eagerly, he went to turn the knob, but found it wouldn't budge. It was locked.

"Gohan?" He called through the door. "Gohan, it's me. It's dad."

No answer.

He called a few more times, a bit louder, but there was no answer whatsoever. Goku supposed maybe the boy was asleep. Instead of picking the lock, he put his fingers back to his forehead and transported himself into the room. To the saiyan's dismay and disappointment, his son was nowhere to be found.

_Whoa_. He thought. This room had definitely changed the most—it was nothing like the room he remembered. The walls were covered in posters and papers of various bands, some of which Goku recognized and others not so. Bookshelves were chocked full, which explained the neat piles and stacks of notebooks and spiral bound papers beside the bed. And that bed: What used to be a typical twin sized bed was now full sized and long, covered in a thick, black comforter.

Black. That seemed to be the theme of Gohan's room. Black everything. The curtains, the bed, all furniture—even the walls appeared black with the lack of light. From the looks of it, Gohan must have rarely opened the blinds.

Out of curiosity, Goku sat down on the bed (it sat rather low since it was merely the mattress laid flat on the floor) and picked up a random sketchbook from the small, wooden desk against the wall. It appeared old and a bit worn and was dated back about four or five years.

_Gohan _did _always like to draw…_

He carefully turned the page, gasping in awe at what he found. He knew his son had artistic talent—but never in a million years did he imagine _this _much talent! The picture was of their house and the surrounding landscape, lacking no detail whatsoever. If he didn't know better, it could have been a photograph of his home.

Page after page, Goku's amazement grew. Various landscapes of Earth and Namek, portaits of family and friends—even himself in a few, and some wild action shots of the Z warriors in battle—was there no limit to his half-saiyan son's talent?

Still utterly impressed, the saiyan warrior closed the spiral book and tucked it neatly with the others. He would like to peruse all of the sketchbooks, in due time, if not actually _watch_ his son draw. In the meantime, he just wanted to see Gohan period.

Standing up once again, Goku placed his fingers back to his forehead and closed his eyes. He diligently sifted through the kis of everyone he knew. No Gohan.

_Weird. Where's his ki?_

He searched a few more times, and again, found no trace of Gohan.

Goku frowned. What in the world was going on? His son was one of the most powerful—if not _THE _most powerful—being on earth! His ki should be a piece of cake to find! Even if he was sick, his ki would still be incredibly evident. No ki whatsoever could only mean he was dead, or suppressing it. And since his son was absolutely alive…

…_But why would he suppress his ki…?_

* * *

The blue sky beamed with prismatic intensity over the skyscraper where Gohan and Videl sat. They were so alone, yet completely amidst the tournament festivities with a picture perfect view.

Videl sighed, enjoying the breezy altitude. She looked over at her friend who was looking at her.

"Having fun?" She asked, almost as a tease.

He smiled and nodded, though he was truthfully dreading having to watch his father participate in the Budokai Tenkaichi. He already saw more of the guy than he cared to. And besides, he knew how the whole thing would pan out: Little by little, all the humans would be disqualified until only Goku and Vegeta remained. They, in turn, would duke it out, obliterating the ring in the process, then move to the air until eventually taking the fight to some remote, deserted island where they could beat the crap out of eachother until one of them was deemed the victor. Of course, the tournament rules would be forgotten after a while, and the fight would ultimately become a product of Vegeta's pride and Goku's desire to push his limits. Though he hated to admit it, Gohan knew his father would be the one to come out on top. Thusly, a bitter Vegeta would retreat to train his ass off until the next all-out brawl took place, as was the endless cycle.

_So damn predictable. _Gohan muttered in his head, letting out a small sigh.

The sigh was just loud enough to catch Videl's ear, informing her of Gohan's lie. Something still troubled him, and she had a hunch as to what…

"Let's am-scray before it's Goku's turn."

Her Gothic friend lit right up when she made the request. "Could we?"

She nodded. "Of course! Martial arts gets old quickly anyway. We should go catch a movie or something."

Gohan didn't have time to reply before the roof-door slammed.

"HEY YOU KIDS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING UP HERE?" Came the shrill shout of a suit-clad fellow.

Gasping in shock, Videl whirled around in the direction of the businessman. She immediately gasped again when she felt her balance suddenly disappear. Before she could even move a muscle, the ledge became out of reach, quickly growing more and more distant.

All she could do was scream.


	12. I Hate You

**No Way Back Chapter XII: I Hate You**

Everything had happened so fast—barely consuming a fraction of a second. Videl shook, still waiting for her mind to process. She looked up, in awe of the building's height. She had just fallen from the very top, right? But she wasn't dead or in a million pieces…

Was she dreaming, or did she remember Gohan jumping off the ledge, grabbing hold of her, and landing _gently_ on the pavement? How was that even possible?

The urge to breathe suddenly hit Videl's lungs and she began to gasp and sputter, sucking in the air, now becoming more coherent of reality. She was still in Gohan's, strong, gauntlet-clad arms. _Gohan's _arms. So he really _did _jump after her and break her fall—? Her mind was drowning—still entirely in panic-mode.

Swiftly but carefully, the saiyan teenager set the girl down on her feet, then let go of her as she wobbled and tried to stand. He knew she would want an explanation, but he just couldn't give her one. That was it. There was no way he could tell her about being a saiyan. Their friendship was over, and now he was alone. Again.

Videl had no idea what to say as she turned around, trying her best to keep her footing. She caught a glimpse of Gohan's horrified face right before he spun on his heel and ran behind the building's alleyway at an inhuman speed.

"Gohan wait! Gohan!" She shouted after him in desperation. Though a genuinely fast runner, she could barely walk a straight line at the moment. "GOHAN!" Her eyes began to water. Between the trauma, confusion, and frustration, she could feel her brain having a meltdown. What the hell was going on? Why did Gohan run away from her?

The thoughts swirled around her mind at rapid speed, making her vision spin faster and faster. Eventually everything went black and Videl was met with peace and silence.

* * *

"Well, I guess I'll find him after the tournament—"

Goku froze.

Almost out of nowhere, Gohan's seemingly nonexistent ki spiked way up, hitting the saiyan warrior like a slap in the face. And just as it spiked, the ki once again disappeared.

On impulse, he returned his fingers to his forehead and transported himself to the exact location where he last felt the signal.

* * *

_FUCK! FUCK EVERYTHING!_

Rapid emotion overcame Gohan's conscious with no end in sight. With lightning speed, he rounded the corner of the office building, now in an alleyway and out of Videl's sight.

He replayed the entire scenario over and over again. They should have never gone to that fucking building. Why did he let her lead him there? She was trying to help him, of course. He asked for a removed location, and that's exactly what she gave him. None of this would have happened if it weren't for him! She never would have fallen—and have almost been killed! They could have continued walking down the street and maybe stopped for food like Videl had suggested, but no. It had to be all about _him_. His insecurities, his flaws—_he _ultimately made her fall. He cost them their friendship.

A small portion of his mind tried to reason with the rest. Maybe if he just explained everything to her in finite detail, she would understand. After all, several other earthlings did. His mother, Bulma, Krillin—just to name a few. They lived with the saiyans day to day, no problem. Who's to say Videl wouldn't be the same?

_No. She likes the human façade I've shown her. The _fake _Gohan. She has no idea what I truly am. And thanks to my own damn lies, she has reason to suspect that I'm not human! If told her everything, she would run away from me in fear. It's probably better this way, that I run instead—_

A sudden flash of light stopped Gohan in his tracks, along with the presence of a massive ki; A ki he was all too familiar with.

He froze, refusing to believe what was happening. But it all made sense: When he leapt off of the roof and sped towards Videl before she hit the ground, he had no choice but to raise his power. And that sudden boost was all someone would need to track him down.

"Gohan."

The voice. That voice; A pitch so distinct and unique from anyone else's. Though seven long years had passed, the tone was unmistakable.

_Goku._

* * *

"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?"

The darkness was beginning to fade away and the white noise of the city street began to seep back into Videl's ears. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The foreign face of a middle aged man looked back at her with concern.

_What the…?_

After a short moment, her surroundings sank in, not to mention her memory.

"Oh my god!" She sat up quickly—too quickly, earning her a wave of dizziness. When the blur dissipated, she looked around. No Gohan.

The man standing next to her offered his hand, which Videl took, gratefully.

"Are you okay?" He asked again, pulling her up, making sure she could stand before letting go.

The dark-haired girl blinked a few times and glanced up at the building's roof-ledge. "I t-think so…" She said meekly, placing a hand on her throbbing forehead. "How long was I out?"

"Oh, no more than a minute. I heard a loud scream so I ran over as fast as I could." He explained. "You fainted right after I got here."

She looked at the man, stunned. Only a minute? Maybe there was still a chance of catching up with Gohan and finding out what the hell had happened!

The man chuckled. "I's worried you would hit your head when you collapsed, but somehow you landed right on that jacket. You're one lucky girl." He said, pointing to the ground where she had been lying. It was Gohan's hoodie!

_It must have come off when he dove to save me!_

She bent down and picked the garment up, clutching it tightly.

"Ma'am, if you don't mind my asking, what all happened?"

"Uh…" Videl stammered. What on earth could she tell him? Certainly not the truth. "I uh… I saw—a spider!" She declared with her best frightened tone. "A really, really big one! It was terrible!"

A dumfounded look came over the middle-aged man. "A spider?"

"Yeah! I'm… arachnophobic."

Well, he seemed to buy it.

"Anyway—I have to go! Thank you, sir!" She smiled and sped off in the direction of the alleyway. She needed to find Gohan. She needed answers.

* * *

_Dammit._

He thought about running, or any possible way to get out of this mess, but every feasible option or hypothetical situation that crossed his mind ended in defeat. _He would find me no matter where I went or what I did. _So against his better judgment, the half saiyan turned around.

Goku looked exactly as he'd imagined. Wild hair, orange gi, and features untouched by time. The only difference he really noted was the luminous halo above the man's head. Dead. He supposed he could take comfort in that: After today, his father would return to the afterlife for good, or so he hoped. But that did him no good now. There his father stood, not twenty feet away from him.

What should he be feeling right now? His mind couldn't focus on any single emotion. Anger, shock, anxiety, resentment—all running rampant through his head. He didn't dare speak. He didn't want to, yet also had no clue of what he would say anyway. So he stood, silent, staring apprehensively at the man he never wanted to see again, watching him react.

"Gohan…" The older man breathed out in disbelief, wide-eyed. "Is that—is that really _you_?" He couldn't help but gawk at the young man. _It couldn't be_. But it was. Kis didn't lie. Not to mention, those eyes—_his _eyes—and that spikey, saiyan hair.

This wasn't his mild mannered little boy anymore. No sir. The person that stood before him was a full-grown man. The childish roundness of his cheeks was gone, replaced with hardened cheekbones and a thick jaw. His shoulders and muscles had really filled out, which was almost as startling as his height. Goku swore the last time he saw his son, the boy barely stood five feet. But now… it looked as if he was _taller_ than his own dad!

"Oh man, Gohan!" He chuckled aloud, taking a step forward. "Look at you! How much did I miss over seven years?" He laughed, smiling brightly.

Now that the initial shock was wearing off, the mass of deep, smoldering hatred he felt towards his father was beginning to rekindle itself. The venom reflected in his dark, mahogany eyes. _More than you can imagine_.

After taking a few more steps, the full blooded saiyan stopped. Why didn't Gohan look happy to see him? He looked— angry? But why? It was Goku's intention to walk up to his long, lost son, give him a big bear hug and tell him how much he missed him. But from the looks of it, Gohan didn't share the same sentiment. What was going on?

* * *

With wide, blue eyes, Videl Satan watched the father-son reunion go down. She didn't know how much of it she'd missed, but gathering from the dialogue, it couldn't have been much.

She crouched awkwardly behind a metal trashcan in the alley, firmly holding a hand over her mouth. It not only prevented her from gasping audibly, but it also diluted the rancid stench of garbage.

From her standpoint, she had a decent, frontal view of Gohan, looking every bit tense and uncomfortable. And she doubted not having his hoodie helped either… Grief and anger were written all over his face—it made her squirm in her spot. She hated seeing her friend in such an awful state.

_What I wouldn't do to get him out of here! Gahh!_

Her eyes now shifted into an intense glare as they fell upon the other man. Son Goku: The world renown martial artist.

_But being one of the world's greatest fighters doesn't excuse bad parenting!_ She fumed in her head. _What an asshole! Who does he think he is?_

* * *

"Go…han…?"

His son's outward appearance was beginning to dawn on him. Those dark clothes—all black and drab, not to mention the metal bracelets and black, fingerless gloves that clung to his wrists… And his hair: Fashioned in such a way to hide his face. This didn't seem like the Gohan he knew. Granted, the boy he remembered was always modest and a bit shy, but he was also vibrant and happy… What was wrong with him?

The middle-aged man took another step forward. "Is something… wrong?"

Gohan's scowl seemed to grow more intense with that question. Disdain was literally radiating off of him, making the atmosphere feel more and more eerie. It was so bizarre!

"Are you okay?" He began to take another step, but quickly halted as he remembered what his wife had told him.

The saiyan cocked his head in confusion. "Wait a minute—Gohan. Your mother said you were sick in bed…" His disposition gradually became more serious as the facts began to piece together. "Obviously, you aren't sick and you're not at home." He stated, crossing his arms. "Why are you avoiding me?"

The question was blatant and pained as it hung in the air. Gohan didn't move a muscle; he just glared with an ominous fury. It didn't take telepathy to figure out the teenager _wouldn't _be answering the question.

After a long, awkward moment, Goku started to feel frustrated himself.

"Gohan."

No answer.

"Gohan!"

Nothing.

Enough was enough. "Answer the question, son!"

Immediately, the younger man's scowl evolved into a grotesque grimace, catching his father off guard.

"—Don't—call—me—_**that**_—!" He breathed through his teeth, the words full of grit. Like hell he would even _associate _with this fucker—his so-called _father_! God, the anger was rising up; the loathing; the fury.

Wide-eyed, Goku froze at the comment. "W-what…?" That was definitely not what he expected to hear. Truthfully, he had no clue as to what he expected to hear. But why in the world would Gohan belligerently denounce calling him "son"? "But—you _ARE _my son! Why—"

"Shut up!" The younger man spat. No fucking way he was going to take this.

The older man's jaw dropped. "W—what—?" Was this really happening? "—Gohan! Why are you acting like this?" He couldn't help his ki from rising, not just out of anger, but outrage, frustration, and utter confusion. "Talk to me, son!"

That was it. That was all Gohan could take. "SHUT UP!" He let out a powerful, disgruntled snarl and clenched his fingerless glove-clad fists so tightly that it hurt. "You are **NOT** my father!" Air whirled around his body as the bottled energy and resentment released itself, finally.

Inwardly, Gohan almost wanted to sneer and laugh. All of this anger—seven years in the making—it felt so powerful. He felt unstoppable. Never before had he experienced such a rush from pure, undiluted hatred. It felt so evil…

…but so good.

* * *

_What the fuck is happening?_ Videl screamed in her mind. She blinked her eyes furiously, trying to make sense of what she was seeing as intense gusts of wind raced around both Gohan and Goku—almost as if it were… energy? Was this some kind of bizarre magic trick?

Involuntarily, she let out a shiver. Why did both men look like they were about to fight? She could only imagine what would happen if they _did _fight. Goku was one of the world's greatest martial artists! He would tear his son apart!—but at the same time, how could he? _Gohan's his son! How could he hurt his own son?_ She began to panic. There had to be something she could do!

She froze suddenly. _Wait a minute… _She looked at Goku's clothes, the obnoxious orange and blue gi. She'd seen that outfit before…on t.v….seven years ago… It looked like—

_Oh my god_.

She gulped, realizing now that the violent, whirling air was no magic trick.

* * *

Goku gasped loudly, outraged by the last comment. He had naturally fallen into a warrior's stance. With the way things were escalating, there was no telling what could happen. He couldn't tell if Gohan was aiming to attack or not, but it sure seemed that way.

He gawked at his son's eerie, disturbed eyes. They looked—_possessed_.

"Gohan—what's gotten into you?" He yelled, in a pleading tone. "I AM your father! Why—"

"FATHERS DON'T LEAVE THEIR SONS FOR **SEVEN FUCKING YEARS**."

Speechless. Goku was speechless. His mind was going wild with thoughts and shock. The tone, the volume, the _language_—who the hell was standing before him?

The mass of wind surrounding him intensified dramatically, ricocheting his spikey locks back and forth. Clearly that last bit had taken Goku off guard. Taking advantage of the allotted silence, the younger saiyan continued:

"HOW DARE YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST DROP EVERYTHING AND WELCOME YOU BACK WITH OPEN FUCKING ARMS! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!"

This was insanity! This was…scary! Where was all of this coming from?

"Gohan—I—"

"YOU **ABANDONED** ME! YOU ABANDONED EVERYONE!" His vicious shouting echoed throughout the alley. "MAYBE THEY CAN FORGIVE YOU, BUT I **CAN'T** AND I **WON'T**!"

Every acidic word out of his son's mouth felt like knife being plunged into his body. Since when were things this bad?

Feeling heat rush over him, Goku begged: "Gohan—Gohan, please—!"

The enraged teenager let out a vehement, frustrated yell as he shook his head violently, partially in disbelief. Didn't this fucking idiot understand?

Looking back up, Gohan dealt his final blow:

"FUCK YOU." He shook his head coldly as he watched his father react. "I **HATE** YOU."

After that, it felt like everything just stopped. _I hate you. _The phrase echoed through his head. _I hate you. I hate you. __**I HATE YOU**_.It… it stung. It hurt so bad. He couldn't really mean that!

Before he could respond, a foreign voice interrupted him.

"HEY!"

Goku flipped his head around to see where the voice was coming from.

The culprit was a young, petite girl with frizzy black hair and sky-blue eyes. She dashed out from behind a row of garbage cans and ran towards the two men. With a blunt stomp of her combat boot, she pivoted to a stop and stood in front of Gohan, separating him from the man that claimed to be his father.

"You have some nerve!" She ordered, pointing a finger at the famous fighter. "How can you stand here and act so surprised after all you've done is hurt him?" Her glare never faltered.

With wide eyes, Goku stared back, completely confused with whatever was going on. Who was this girl and why was she yelling at him?

"W-wait—who are—?" He stammered.

Videl crossed her arms, refusing to back down."That's not important! What's important is that you leave Gohan alone! He doesn't need a deadbeat dad like you around!"

By this time, Goku had taken note of another uninvited guest: Piccolo stood atop one of the alleyway buildings, watching the scene from up above in his ever-stoic disposition.

"So why don't you just go back to the tournament and leave Gohan be?" She yelled, determined to get this psycho away from her friend. "'Be a pity if you missed your chance to fight." She said mockingly.

In his peripheral vision, Goku could see Piccolo nodding. Perhaps the Namekian knew something he did not, or could help him sort through his thoughts.

He looked back at the girl in front of him. She looked to be in her late teens, around the same age as Gohan, he guessed. And now that he thought about it, they were both dressed similarly. She must have been a friend, then.

Taking a deep breath, Goku backed down. He sighed. "Fine." He placed two fingers to his forehead and glanced at his son one last him.

Those dark brown eyes were empty. No longer were they full of rage, but they held no life.

He sighed again and disappeared.

* * *

**kljcv djvlkdjvlk;jsfvl kjs. FINALLY, I managed to push this chapter out! I started it quite awhile ago, but it's been hard to sit and work on it and tweak it since this fall semester has started. Nevertheless, here it is: The part you've all been anxiously awaiting, where Gohan and Goku have their little "reunion". I know it feels like the drama is moving a bit quicker, which you may or may not like, but if I'm going to finish this bad boy, then I need to get this show on the road Dx Things are really going to speed up in the next chapter or two-pertaining to actual events of DBZ. That's my only spoiler. But here are some dramatic hints in the form of questions:**

**-What did Piccolo see and what is he going to tell Goku?**

**-With Goku now out of the picture, what's going to happen between Gohan and Videl, especially with all that's happened? Not to mention Gohan and Goku! After that powwow, what could possibly be next?**

**-Why did Gohan _enjoy _expressing his dark and twisted feelings? Will they arise again?**

**So there you have it!**

_**This chapter is brought to you by "10's" by Pantera. I looped it over and over again until I was pissed off enough to write the ending.**_

_**Also, this is legitimately my longest chapter ever! The word count is average, but usually on Office Word, my chapters amount to 6-8 pages. This chapter made it to 9. So I guess it's an accomplishment of sorts, haha.**_

**STAY TUNED.**


	13. Realizations & Revelations

**I was seriously losing hope that this fanfiction was going anywhere, but here it is: Chapter 13! I'm literally shocked that it's gone this far. Hopefully I can push a few more chapters out this summer, so we'll see. Hope you enjoy this new installment.**

* * *

**No Way Back Chapter XIII: Realizations & Revelations**

Videl huffed until her breathing evened out. She still stood in a defensive position, which was an awkward contrast from her wide, white eyes and open mouth.

"W-w-where did he go…?" She muttered to herself, still contemplating what-the-hell-ever just happened. People didn't just _disappear_. So how on earth did Goku Son just vanish?

_Speaking of vanishing acts… _She couldn't just let Gohan get away again. Not this time.

"Gohan!" She whipped around to face her tall friend. Luckily, there he stood, surprise and astonishment written all over his face. Under the shock, she could clearly see evidence of grief and pain… The poor guy was traumatized, if not worse, and she guessed he was planning on making another run for it.

Stepping forward, she began her reasoning: "Gohan, please don't go—don't run away again!" She gushed, if not begged.

The wild-haired young man stood eerily unmoving like that of a statue. It was down right creepy.

"…How much did you see…?" The words barely made sound as they left his lips, and the tension in his features never once faltered. His tone was empty. Hopeless. Grim.

The teenage girl eased her stance and looked at him thoughtfully; determined. "Everything." She stepped closer. "But I want you to know that I understand."

Gohan breathed out a defeated sigh, numbly shaking his head. How now could he possibly escape this? "…There's no way you—"

"You were the little boy at the Cell Games. Weren't you?" She stated bluntly, semi-crossing her arms.

It was the silent gasp and horrified disposition that gave Videl her answer. For the moment, it seemed speech was temporarily impossible for her Gothic friend, so she continued: "It was you, Gohan. You killed Cell. Not my father." There was a peculiar pride in her voice as she admitted those words; the truth. It brought a sort of grin to her lips. "I knew it couldn't have been dad. There was just no way. It was you and your friends, and Goku." She whispered the last part, out of courtesy. "I know because Goku was wearing the same orange clothes that he was just now. It's pretty distinct."

Still not quite free of his stunned trance, Gohan only blinked, mouth agape. He couldn't believe this was happening. It was as if she were reading him like a book! How could it possibly get any worse?

Satisfied and a little bit smug over her discovery—even more so that it was officially, undeniably true, she went on to deal the next blow:

"I know you're the Gold Fighter, too." She smiled. "You weren't late that day—you saved those people—_me_—and kicked the shit out of those robbers! I know it was you!" She exclaimed excitedly, lighting up. "I don't know how you do it, but you can change your hair to blonde—like when you fought Cell—and it's cool!"

At this point, the Saiyan boy was dumbfounded. She had him completely figured out, and from the sound of it, it had been a piece of cake, if not easier, thanks to Goku's appearance.

"And…" She continued in a soft tone, stepping forward once more. This time, he backed away, a somber expression on his pale face. "Just now, you saved my life, Gohan."

_Shit_. He knew this was his last chance; he had to run now. But her eyes… Her gaze was fixed on him, emanating a powerful combination of gratitude and…_love_?

_Love. _

He was frozen as she came closer and grabbed his glove-clad hand. It was so much larger than her small, petite hand. Small, but warm. And strong.

"You don't have to hide from me." The statement was more powerful than Videl could have ever imagined—it nearly knocked the wind out of Gohan's chest: _This _is what he wanted—_needed_—all along: Acceptance. Reassurance. Support. Confirmation. And finally, here it was, in the form of a short, quirky, teenage girl.

She was nosy; she was stubborn; she was the daughter of the man that stole his rightful thunder; and right in this moment, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, sky-blue eyes staring up into his earthy ones.

A swell of emotions twisted his insides in a resounding cycle of relief and disbelief. Nothing had ever felt so overwhelmingly good, which constituted for the sudden lack of rational thought. Almost unknowingly, he latched onto her small form and hoisted her body into to air to his level, hugging her tightly. To his delight, she squeezed back just has hard.

Neither was very sure just how long the silent embrace went on for, but neither cared as well. It felt like they had both just overcome some sort of cosmic milestone in their friendship; whatever likeness they had before seemed to pale in comparison to the bond they just achieved. This felt stronger and more intimate: No secrets, no hiding. Just truth. Just them.

And dammit if it didn't feel so _right_.

* * *

Goku clenched his thick, unruly hair with his fist, in mid-flight, wondering what in the _hell_ had just happened. Five minutes. _Less _than five minutes, actually, and his relationship with his son had gone to shit. How? Why?—That's all he wanted to know.

He didn't hear Piccolo fly up beside him but was not surprised to hear his calm and wise voice suggesting a spot to land. It was definitely the Kami side of him, so rational.

He numbly obliged and landed on the rooftop of a random building near the tournament's headquarters. They stood there solemnly as the wind whipped around them.

It was Goku that eventually broke the silence.

"…I take it that's why ChiChi lied to me." He said quietly and bluntly, more to himself than to the Namekian standing next to him. He looked blindly at the white-tiled sparring ring, refusing to meet the taller, green warrior's eyes. "What happened in the last seven years, Piccolo. Why is he…like…_that_…?"

The question was broad and vague but he couldn't think of a better way to word it. He wanted to know everything. Why was Gohan hiding his ki? Why was he acting that way? Dressing that way? Why was he so angry? Why does he _hate _him?

Calling it a shock would be a devastating understatement. That was evident enough from Goku's features—suddenly forlorn and defeated. Piccolo sighed, placing a comforting pat on his comrade's shoulder. He owed Goku the truth, so he began.

"In the most basic sense, Gohan did not take your death very well." He stated dryly but without malice. It was true. The saiyan hero's death by Cell is ultimately what this whole mess boiled down to.

He thought about the answer for a quick second, flipping around to face his old nemesis. "That's it…? But I—" The words left him. This didn't make any sense. "How?"

Piccolo dropped into a meditative sit, gesturing for Goku to do the same. It would be easier this way.

"He blames himself for your death, and—"

"Piccolo you _heard _him say it—! He _HATES _me!" The orange-clad man blurted out in clear frustration.

Ordinarily, the Namek was neither a fan of nor tolerated being interrupted, but he allowed his friend to vent. It was necessary and he would allow it for the circumstance.

"Goku, understand that Gohan did not become the hateful spirit that you just saw overnight. This transformation took time."

The warrior nodded slowly. Yeah, that made sense. He mentally vowed to bite his tongue so Piccolo could finish his explanation. Or at least he would _try_.

"He blamed himself for your death. And though it may not seem like it, he still does."

"—But it wasn't his fault! –Sorry…"

"The first year, he seemed to be coping just fine. I spent a lot of time with him, training and meditating. He was lively and bright, just as you remember him.

It wasn't until the next year that I noticed him falling into a sort of…depression."

The last word sank over Goku's mind like an uncomfortable veil. He mouthed a silent "Oh."

"He's always been rather mild and reserved, so it was not incredibly noticeable whenever he would drift off, so to speak. The best way I can describe it is that he would temporarily lose sight of reality and become trapped in his mind…

But that episode was relatively short lived. Your wife never noticed it since she was busy with Goten. Even I didn't think very much of it; I thought it was normal. He was simply mourning the loss of a loved one…"

The pause following Piccolo's explanation was loud and looming. The Saiyan both craved and feared what was yet to be said. He gulped, waiting.

"Goku," he started, knowing this would sting, "he says he hates you when really, he _resents_ you. You chose to stay in Otherworld and refused to have your life restored by a wish. In his mind, you chose death over him; over your family. That's something he's never been able to cope with."

Shaking his head rapidly, Goku was almost unable to contain himself: "I WOULD NEVER DO THAT! I LOVE MY FAMILY—I ONLY DID IT BECAUSE—"

"This isn't a critique of you, Goku. I know _why_ you did it. But this is about your son, not you and not me." Piccolo scolded, getting the conversation back on track. "You made your decision because you thought it best for Earth, but you never considered the possible repercussions. Gohan believes you let go blindly and gave up on him without a second thought. If I had to guess, I would say he feels betrayed."

_Betrayed_. That hit harder than expected. Goku felt the heaviness of the word in the pit of his stomach. He was beyond words now.

"However, that is only half of the battle."

He could have choked. "There's… _more_?"

Piccolo nodded, regretfully. "He hates you because you never came back, but he _loathes _himself for making you leave in the first place."

"Piccolo he didn't—"

"I know. We all know. He didn't cause your death directly, but as far as Gohan believes, he killed you himself." The green warrior released an empty sigh, watching his comrade experience a full-body shudder. "And for it, he's been killing himself ever since."

* * *

Videl was reluctant to let go when he lowered her back down to her feet. They began walking out of the sketchy-ass alley at a casual pace, heading nowhere in particular.

"Are you okay?" She asked, regarding his psyche. The shit that just went down had to have been at least a tinsy bit traumatic. "Like, _really _okay?"

He hesitated a moment before nodding, still sort of high from their newfound closeness. "…Yeah. Yeah. I am."

A long silence followed as they walked slowly. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but a welcomed one; the kind that two close friends can share without it being even remotely awkward. Besides, it gave both teens some time to settle in their thoughts.

After a moment, Videl tugged on Gohan's arm, gaining his attention.

"Say, Gohan…" She began, looking positively devious.

Gohan warmed and fought back a huge smile. "Yeah?"

The petite girl beamed. "I was sort of, kind of, maybe, slightly wondering if somehow, possibly, you might consider…doing me a really big favor."

The Goth laughed out loud, not sure if he should be excited or if he should dread whatever was to come out of his friend's mouth. He fought his smile even harder, failing miserably.

He settled with a reserved "What kind of favor?"

"Oh," she glanced away, smirking smugly, "nothing too _outrageous_."

"And that would be…?" Gohan nudged her shoulder with his elbow in a pathetic attempt to spill her thoughts.

She stopped walking and pulled him to a stop too.

"_Gohan_." She gushed, standing on her tip toes and firmly grasping his thick shoulders. "My good friend, my buddy ol' pal, Heavy to my Metal, tall to my short, Gothiest Goth in _all_ of Gothdom—"

"You are _full _of crap—" he snorted before she hushed him.

"Would you, Gohan Son, near and dear to my black little heart, do me this honor and—"

Before she could prolong her speech with any more beating-around-the-bogus-bush, Gohan leaned down and did the one thing he'd been dreaming about doing ever since he'd received that scrap of paper that bore but one little word: Yes.

**He kissed her.**

And as planned, it shut her right up.

When he pulled away a second later, Videl's eyes rivaled saucers and her jaw hung slack and open, expression almost unreadable.

Gohan was torn. Should he be horrified that he was so impulsive and gave no warning? Or should he laugh because of her reaction. It was hard to tell whether what he did was okay or not and as the milliseconds dragged on, he began to worry more and more. _Way to fucking go! You lost her. Congratulations, asshole. You're alone now._

"Gohan…" She began in the voice of a mouse, shock still tinting her features.

_Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. _"I'm so sorry—I shouldn't have—"

"I was gonna ask you to teach me to fly but _fuck that_!" She blurted out, cutting off his apology. "This is a MILLION times better!" And before he could voice his relief, she reeled him in for another liplock.

It was then Gohan truly believed that Videl loved him. And he welcomed it, allowing his guard to fall and senses to relax as their lips melted into each other's.

He mentally vowed from that moment on that he would do anything to ensure that she kept loving him, because, well… He loved her too.

* * *

**Well, here it is, guys. The latest scoop. Tell me what you think! R&R is always appreciated and guaranteed to brighten my day. Your comments and ideas also inspire me to write more, so please, by all means, fire away!**

**I know the kiss came about so suddenly, but I need to get this show on the road. Thanks to all of you who have followed this fic and not given up! You are all awesome and I love you in the weirdest, grossest way imaginable. **

**While writing is my passion, I'm a cartoonist on the side and have quite a few pieces to accompany No Way Back. So if anyone is interested, please let me know and I will be happy to show them.**

**superfloof on tumblr**

**metalfloof on Deviantart**

**Don't be shy! I'm usually nice.**


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